Coronavirus in Columbus: Guide for MCSD school reopening, plus more news for Tuesday
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. Check back for more information.
Here are the updated COVID-19 numbers for our area:
GEORGIA
Muscogee County and its surrounding areas reported a total of 12,432 cases in the 3 p.m. Tuesday update from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
368 total deaths were reported in the area.
Here’s a breakdown by county of total cases, deaths and hospitalizations:
- Muscogee: 5136, 113, 515
Troup: 2431, 77, 273
Chattahoochee: 821, 2, 11
- Sumter: 794, 56, 180
Harris: 692, 18, 74
Meriwether: 442, 7, 52
- Crisp: 417, 15, 59
Randolph: 290, 26, 46
Stewart: 275, 10, 69
Dooly: 266, 14, 47
Macon: 189, 10, 40
Marion: 162, 5, 15
Talbot: 148, 5, 21
Taylor: 108, 4, 16
- Clay: 106, 2, 7
- Schley: 83, 1, 13
Webster: 40, 2, 9
- Quitman: 32, 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 novel coronavirus cases in Alabama has now reached 105,815 according to the Alabama Department of Public Health’s dashboard at 3:30 p.m. EST Tuesday.
The number of reported cases in Lee County stands at 2,861 while Russell County’s total stands at 1,453.
There have been 863,713 tests performed statewide. The state reported 1,867 total COVID-19-related deaths as of Tuesday.
The state of Alabama reports the number of presumed recoveries from COVID-19 on a weekly basis. On Aug. 18, the state reported 41,523 presumed recoveries throughout Alabama.
To view the full list of Alabama COVID-19 cases, click here.
What’s new for MCSD students compared to spring? Your guide to online-only classes
As the Muscogee County School District opens the fall 2020 semester Monday with online-only classes due to the surge of coronavirus in Columbus, administrators and teachers say they now have the training and the plan to deliver better remote instruction than they did during the spring.
More info on Kemp’s new COVID-19 order
Gov. Brian Kemp issued a new executive order Saturday afternoon that extends shelter-in-place orders for high-risk Georgians among other measures.
Kemp’s newest executive order will also allow some local governments to enact mask mandates, reversing previous policy days after he dropped a lawsuit against Atlanta officials over the city’s coronavirus restrictions.
Here’s more info about that new executive order.
Muscogee County, Phenix City to limit fan attendance for high school football
Muscogee County and Phenix City schools will limit the capacity of fan attendance at high school football games this season due to COVID-19 precautions.
Here’s what high school football attendance and new rules about other sports will look like this fall in the two districts.
4 COVID-19 cases in Harris County School District reported during first week of reopening
Four people in the Harris County School District have tested positive for the coronavirus during the first week of the fall 2020 semester.
One COVID-19 case out of the district’s 5,528 students and three COVID-19 cases out of the district’s 763 employees have been reported, HCSD spokeswoman Rachel Crumbley told the Ledger-Enquirer in an email Monday afternoon.
Those cases have prompted eight students and seven employees who had close contact with the infected people to quarantine at home for 14 days, Crumbley said.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 11:11 AM.
