Gov. Kemp to hold COVID-19 news conference for first time in nearly 3 months. How to watch
Gov. Brian Kemp and state health commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey will hold a news conference Wednesday morning with an update on the state’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Kemp and Toomey’s Wednesday conference will be the first COVID-19 briefing since mid-July. The news conference will be live-streamed on Kemp’s Facebook page and Georgia Public Broadcasting’s website. The conference begins at 9 a.m.
The announcement comes after Kemp extended the state’s coronavirus restrictions through at least Oct. 15. Confirmed infections are down from the state’s summer peak, but state health officials reported the seven-day average for new cases rose 3.4% from Sept. 29 to Oct. 5. The state’s seven-day test positivity average also increased from 6.3% on Sept. 28 to 7% on Oct. 5.
State health officials identified 70 COVID-19 outbreaks from Sept. 27- Oct. 3. Schools accounted for 17, the largest portion. An outbreak is defined as more than the expected number of cases in one place within a 14-day period, state health officials said.
In addition to the state’s coronavirus trends, Toomey will discuss flu shots and antigen coronavirus testing, said department spokesperson Nancy Nydam. Toomey has previously said getting a flu shot could prevent Georgians from suffering severe flu complications and keep medical providers from being overwhelmed.
An antigen test is also known as a rapid diagnostic coronavirus test. Patients could get results back in an hour or less. However, the tests are more likely to miss active coronavirus infections compared to viral tests, the Food and Drug Administration reports.
A positive antigen test by itself is counted as a probable case in Georgia. As of Monday, state health officials reported 21,348 probable COVID-19 cases, mostly found through antigen testing, state health officials said
The Georgia Department of Health confirmed 979 new COVID-19 cases and 39 deaths Tuesday. Since the start of the pandemic, 324,650 cases and 7,229 deaths have been reported.