Georgia tested almost all nursing home residents for COVID-19. Here are the results
Gov. Brian Kemp said in a news release Friday 97% of residents in Georgia nursing homes with 25 beds or more have been tested for the coronavirus.
At long-term care facilities with 25 beds or more, 74% of residents and 54% of staff members have been tested for COVID-19. These facilities include licensed nursing homes, assisted living communities and personal care homes across the state.
As of June 11, 6,259 long-term care facility residents tested positive for COVID-19 and 1,120 have died. They account for about 11% of the state’s confirmed coronavirus cases and 47% of its deaths, according to data provided by the Georgia Department of Public Health and the Georgia Department of Community Health.
Over the past several months, Kemp repeatedly said testing residents and staff at these facilities was a top priority.
“Nursing homes and all long-term care facilities remain critically important battlegrounds in our fight against COVID-19,” Kemp said in a statement.
Of the nearly 6,300 residents who tested positive for COVID-19, a total of 3,269 have recovered. The Department of Community Health began tracking recovery data for residents on June 4.
Residents who previously tested positive for the coronavirus are listed as recovered if they’ve had subsequent negative tests, an absence of symptoms, or meet other criteria established by the facility where they live, the governor’s office said.
The state health department reports 54,973 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,375 deaths as of Thursday afternoon.
Editor’s note: Long-term care residents who died from COVID-19 comprise 47% of statewide coronavirus-related deaths, not 41%, as previously stated in this story.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 11:45 AM.