Coronavirus updates: College football season taking shape, more news in Columbus area
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information and numbers regarding the coronavirus in the Chattahoochee Valley.
Georgia’s coronavirus case totals update each day at 3 p.m.
Here are the updated COVID-19 numbers for our area as of July 31.
Georgia
Muscogee County and its surrounding areas reported a total of 10,407 cases in the 3 p.m. Friday update from the Georgia Department of Public Health. 300 deaths have now been reported in the area.
Here’s a breakdown by county of total cases, deaths and hospitalizations:
- Muscogee: 4201, 81, 458
Troup: 2158, 58, 240
- Sumter: 717, 56, 170
Chattahoochee: 594, 1, 10
Harris: 607, 15, 68
- Crisp: 358, 14, 54
Meriwether: 347, 5, 46
- Dooly: 239, 14, 46
Stewart: 245, 5, 48
- Randolph: 257, 26, 41
Macon: 171, 10, 38
Marion: 136, 4, 15
Talbot: 122, 3, 19
- Clay: 72, 2, 6
- Taylor: 69, 2, 14
Webster: 36, 2, 7
- Schley: 49, 1, 7
Quitman: 29, 1, 6
A full county-by-county breakdown from the Georgia Department of Public Health can be found here.
Georgia’s West-Central Health District covers 16 counties: Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor and Webster.
Troup and Meriwether counties are not in the West-Central Health District but because of their proximity to Columbus, the Ledger-Enquirer will track those numbers as well.
Alabama
The number of coronavirus cases in Alabama has now reached 85,278 according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s dashboard at 3:2:50 p.m. EST Friday.
The number of reported cases in Lee County stands at 2,430 while Russell County’s total stands at 1,161.
There have been 677,841 tests performed statewide. The state reported 1,531 total COVID-19-related deaths as of Thursday.
The state of Alabama reports the number of presumed recoveries from COVID-19 on a weekly basis. On July 27, the state reported 35,401 presumed recoveries throughout Alabama.
To view the full list of Alabama COVID-19 cases, click here.
SEC to play through COVID-19 with modified 2020 schedule
The SEC announced Thursday that the conference would adopt a 10-game, conference-only scheduling format for the 2020 season due to coronavirus concerns.
Auburn-North Carolina and Georgia-Georgia Tech are officially canceled.
A full, revised schedule for the SEC’s programs will be released at a later date, following approval by conference ADs, according to the conference.
Chattahoochee County changes its school reopening plan amid COVID-19
Another school district in the Columbus area has delayed reopening for the fall 2020 semester due to the surge of local coronavirus cases.
Chattahoochee County schools will reopen Sept. 9, one month after the previously scheduled date. ChattCo teachers will use that time for planning and professional development.
The Chattahoochee County Board of Education approved the revised plan recommended by superintendent Kristie Brooks during its meeting Tuesday night.
Food trucks and movie drive-in this Friday at the Civic Center
The Columbus Civic Center is hosting a drive-in movie night Friday at 9 p.m.
The movie shown will be “Sonic: The Hedgehog,” and gates open at 6 p.m. Food trucks, music and more will be present.
Tickets can be purchased at columbusciviccenter.org.
Columbus-area high schools report positive COVID-19 cases to GHSA
Local school districts have reported fewer than 10 positive COVID-19 cases to the GHSA since the governing body began allowing workouts in early June.
The school systems of Muscogee County (three cases), Troup County (none), Marion County (one) and Chattahoochee County (none), along with one private school, released to the Ledger-Enquirer reported numbers in which a student-athlete or coach tested positive for the virus and was reported as a positive case to the GHSA.
COVID-19 committee asks for Georgia documents, says state isn’t following recommendations
The chairman of a U.S. House COVID-19 panel says Georgia leaders are not following White House coronavirus task force recommendations and is asking Gov. Brian Kemp to provide documentation outlining the state’s response.
U.S. Rep. James E. Clyburn, D-SC, who heads the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, sent letters to Vice President Mike Pence, Coronavirus Response Coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, and the governors of Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, and Tennessee Wednesday urging them to implement “science-based public health measures” to prevent the virus from spreading.
In his letter to Kemp, Clyburn said the state is not following at least six different recommendations from the White House task force as outlined in a weekly report provided to state officials.
