Muscogee County back in COVID-19 ‘yellow zone,’ WH task force says. Here’s the data
Muscogee County saw slight increases in new cases and test positivity rates last week as federal officials labeled it a COVID-19 yellow zone, according to the latest report from the White House coronavirus task force.
The report, published by the Center for Public Integrity, is dated Sept. 20 and offers recommendations to state and local leaders about how to best handle virus mitigation.
Muscogee’s inclusion in the yellow zone was driven primarily by its test positivity rate, which was between 5 and 7.9% from Sept. 10-16. The week before, the county was in the green zone for test positivity, reporting a rate below 5%. As of Sept. 23, the county’s seven-day average for test positivity is 5.5%, according to data from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Muscogee was in the orange zone for cases, meaning between 51 and 100 cases per 100,000 people were reported from Sept. 12-18. Muscogee was not listed as a coronavirus red or yellow zone in the task force’s last report on Sept. 13.
Suggestions from the task force continue to center around the state’s colleges and universities, including the strict use of masks, social distancing and limiting the size of gatherings to prevent the spread of the virus.
“Georgia is making progress and, to sustain the gains, should continue the strong mitigation efforts statewide and strengthen mitigation efforts in university towns to decrease spread from universities to the local community,” a portion of the report reads. “Consider a further decrease in hours and occupancy limits in bars and restaurants in university counties and anywhere university and college students gather cases begin to rise.”
Of Georgia’s 159 counties, 40 were in the yellow zone. Some of the state’s larger yellow zone counties include Gwinnett, Fulton and Cherokee counties. The larger Columbus metro area was also in the yellow zone.
Savannah’s Chatham County and Athens’ Clarke County were in the orange zone. Augusta’s Richmond County and Macon’s Bibb County were in the red zone. Forty-seven of Georgia’s counties were in the red zone, meaning more than 101 cases per 100,000 people were reported and more than 10.1% of the county’s tests came back positive.
Statewide, 11,945 coronavirus cases were reported from Sept. 12-18 at a rate of 113 per 100,000 people. That’s an increase of 4% and the 14th-highest rate in the nation. Georgia was in the red zone for new cases.
Testing increased and test positivity rates decreased. Georgia reported 123,421 tests from Sept. 10-16, an increase of 27%. Test positivity rates for the same period were 7%, a decrease of 1.2%. That was the 17th-highest rate in the nation, and put Georgia in the yellow zone for positivity rates.
Muscogee County case breakdown
Muscogee County reported 37 new cases and one new death. Since the start of the pandemic, Muscogee County has reported 5,920 coronavirus cases and 167 deaths.
On Wednesday, 253 new viral tests were reported, and Muscogee County’s test positivity rate for the past two weeks is 6.0%. The World Health Organization’s recommended test positivity percentage is 5% or less for at least 14 days. A rate below 5% could mean a state is properly tracking outbreaks and locating milder cases of the disease.
Since the start of the pandemic, 10.8% of Muscogee County’s tests have been positive.
The Georgia Geospatial Information Office, using data provided by the Georgia Department of Public Health, breaks down the county’s cases and deaths by age, sex, race and ethnicity.
According to the data, adults ages 25 to 34 account for 1,222 (about 21%) of Columbus’ cases. That is the largest portion. Female residents account for 3,341 (56%) of the county’s cases. Black residents account for 2,494 (42%) of Columbus’ cases, while the race of about 1,694 (29%) cases is unknown.
People ages 65-74 account for the largest portion of COVID-19 deaths in Muscogee County — 50 deaths (29%). Female residents account for the largest portion of deaths with 89 (54%) overall. Black residents account for 86 (52%) of the county’s coronavirus deaths.
Stewart County reported 16 new cases Wednesday, bringing its total number of coronavirus cases to 478. The county is home to the Stewart Detention Facility, one of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities in the nation.
Earlier this week, a third federal immigration detainee at Stewart died from coronavirus complications. Cipriano Chavez-Alvarez, 61, of Mexico, died at Piedmont Columbus Regional Hospital Sept. 21. Hospital officials determined Chavez-Alvarez’s preliminary cause of death was “cardiopulmonary arrest, secondary to complications of coronavirus disease (COVID-19),” ICE officials said in a news release. He’d been hospitalized since Aug. 15.
Georgia update
Cases: 309,678 (+1,577 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.
Deaths: 6,773 (+98 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 296,466 total antibody tests and 2,803,215 total viral tests (+19,788 viral tests in 24 hours). These totals don’t account for tests that are not reported through the state’s electronic lab reporting system.
Over the last two weeks, Georgia reported 183 daily coronavirus tests per 100,000 residents. That’s 35% of the state’s testing target, according to reporting by the New York Times and estimates made by the Harvard Global Health Institute.
Current COVID hospitalizations: 1,370 a decrease of 36.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 5:26 PM.