Chattahoochee County reports record-breaking number of new COVID-19 cases
Chattahoochee County reported 85 new COVID-19 cases Wednesday, the largest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic.
Of the county’s 1,277 total cases, 975 (76%) are people between the ages of 15 and 24. More than 94% of those infected are male residents, according to data from the Georgia Geospatial Information Office, which uses data provided by the Georgia Department of Public Health, breaks down the county’s cases and deaths by age, sex, race and ethnicity.
Residents and soldiers in training who test positive for the novel coronavirus are counted among Chattahoochee County’s totals, officials at Martin Army Community Hospital and the Georgia Department of Public Health have previously said.
The New York Times reports Chattahoochee County had the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people over the past seven days in the United States, as of noon Wednesday. It ranks the highest among Georgia counties for the most COVID-19 cases per capita since the start of the pandemic — 11,880.17 per 100,000 people.
But recruits and others who arrive at Benning aren’t included in Chattahoochee County’s overall population estimates, Martin Army and state health officials said. That has the effect of raising the county’s case rate.
“(The state health department) uses census population estimates — as do most states — and there is not standardization,” said Nancy Nydam, a spokesperson for the Georgia Department of Public Health, in an email to the Ledger-Enquirer earlier this week. “For the most part, the county is documented as where the individual spends the majority of their time.”
Nydam said that Chattahoochee County is where many of them would have become infected, unless they had just arrived at Benning before testing positive.
“(While) there may be some discrepancies, for disease tracking it makes sense,” she said.
In the last two weeks, 6% of the county’s coronavirus tests have come back positive. Since the start of the pandemic, 5.6% of Chattahoochee’s test have come back positive, according to state data. The World Health Organization’s recommended test positivity percentage is 5% or less to properly track outbreaks and locate milder cases of the disease.
Chattahoochee’s test positivity rate is lower than neighboring counties such as Muscogee.
Muscogee County case breakdown
According to the latest data release from the Georgia Department of Public Health, Muscogee County reported 42 new cases and 6 deaths Wednesday. A total of 5,526 coronavirus cases and 141 deaths in Columbus have been confirmed since the start of the pandemic.
Wednesday’s 24-hour case increase was the largest since mid-August but well below record-highs in July. The single-day death increase matched a county record.
On Wednesday, 170 new viral tests were reported, and Muscogee County’s test positivity rate for the past two weeks is 8.3%. Since the start of the pandemic, 11.3% of Muscogee County’s tests have been positive.
According to the data from the Georgia Geospatial Information Office, adults ages 25 to 34 account for 1,155 (about 21%) of Columbus’ cases. That is the largest portion. Female residents account for 3,123 (57%) of the county’s cases. Black residents account for 2,298 (42%) of Columbus’ cases, while the race of about 1,691 (about 31%) cases is unknown.
People ages 65-74 account for the largest portion of COVID-19 deaths in Muscogee County — 42 deaths (30%). Female residents account for the largest portion of deaths with 75 (53%) overall. Black residents account for 74 (52%) of the county’s coronavirus deaths.
Georgia update
In its latest report, the White House coronavirus task force reported Georgia had 148 coronavirus cases per 100,000 people during the week Aug. 22-28. That was a decrease from the week before, and the seventh-highest rate in the country.
Muscogee and the Columbus metro area remained in the yellow zone, according to the report.
“Georgia has seen a decrease in new cases and stability in test positivity over the last week, demonstrating continued week-over-week progress,” the report reads. “With continued aggressive mitigation and prevention of spread from universities to local communities, progress should continue and mortality should begin to decrease.”
A full copy of the White House report, published by the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington D.C.-based nonprofit newsroom, can be found here.
Cases: 274,613 (+2,021 reported today). The number of new cases reported in a day may not match the difference in total cases over a 24-hour period. This occurs because previously reported cases may be removed as duplicate reports are corrected. An older confirmed case may also be reclassified as additional information is collected during an investigation.
Georgia reported 2,322 coronavirus cases a week ago on Aug. 26 and 2,391 coronavirus cases two weeks ago on Aug. 19.
Deaths: 5,795 (+68 deaths in 24 hours). It’s important to note that these numbers indicate when deaths are reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health. It does not reflect when these deaths occurred.
Tests: Georgia reported 278,683 total antibody tests and 2,381,637 total viral tests (+13,139 viral tests in 24 hours). These totals don’t account for tests that are not reported through the state’s electronic lab reporting system.
Current COVID hospitalizations: 1,859. That’s a decrease of 57 patients in 24 hours. The count includes any patient in a Georgia hospital who has tested positive for COVID-19 at the time of the report. This count does not include patients who are being investigated for possible infection by health officials.
This story was originally published September 2, 2020 at 4:38 PM.