Georgia remains in White House ‘red zone’ as COVID-19 cases spike across the country

Georgia remains in the “red zone” for COVID-19 cases, according to the most recent report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, but has one of the lowest case rates in the country.

The state is averaging 117 new coronavirus cases per 100,000 people, which puts the state 48th in the country after leading the nation in the category in mid-August.

The task force reported that “there is now aggressive, unrelenting, expanding broad community spread across the country, reaching most counties, without evidence of improvement but rather, further deterioration. Current mitigation efforts are inadequate and must be increased to flatten the curve to sustain the health system for both COVID and non-COVID emergencies.”

Mitigation efforts must continue in the state in order to reverse the recent uptick across the state. This includes mask-wearing, physical distancing, hand hygiene and avoiding crowds. The task force warned that social gatherings and family events are leading causes of COVID-19 spread, as many individuals have the virus but are asymptomatic.

Georgia ranks 35th in the country for test positivity, with a rate between 8-10%, according to the report.

Federal, state and county data

White House report: In Middle Georgia, Macon-Bibb County and Warner Robins are in the “orange zone.” The orange zone indicates the metro areas reported between 51-100 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people and a test positivity between 8%-10%

Dublin and Milledgeville are now in the “yellow zone” in the latest update from the White House Coronavirus Task Force. The yellow zone indicates the metro areas reported between 10-50 new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people and a test positivity between 5%-7.9%

North Central Health District reports: The COVID-19 incidence rate for Bibb County residents over the most recent reporting period (Oct .26-Nov. 8) was 176 cases per 100,000 residents. The previous two-week incidence rate was 190 per 100,000. This is an 8% decrease. From Oct. 26-Nov. 8, 99% of cases were linked to community spread and not a specific outbreak. The vast majority of cases linked to outbreaks were associated with congregate care settings, such as nursing homes.

Monroe, Jasper, Peach, Putnam, Hancock, Twiggs and Washington, each NCHD counties, reported an increase in the new case rate. Washington County had the largest increase, up by 117% with a new case rate of 574 for the current two-week reporting period. This is up from 265 in the previous reporting period. Monroe County had the second-largest increase.

The NCHD covers 13 counties, including Bibb, Houston and Peach. It also includes the following colleges and universities: Georgia College, Fort Valley State, Mercer and Middle Georgia State University.

Georgia Department of Health Report: The seven-day average of new cases reported increased by 22.7% from Nov. 9-16 across the state.

COVID-19 daily hospitalizations increased from 1,534 on Nov. 9 to 1,697 on Nov. 16. As a whole, hospitalizations have decreased by 47% since the high of 3,200 on July 30.

The state of Georgia has seen a small decrease in what are considered outbreaks. From Nov. 9-16, there were 73 outbreaks, 23 fewer than the week before.

The health department said that outbreaks occurred in settings where people are congregating and lack social distancing. The source of most of the outbreaks occurred in schools, long-term care facilities, correctional facilities and workplaces.

Free COVID-19 mask event: Macon-Bibb County Health Department is hosting a drive-thru holiday event at the health department located at 171 Emery Hwy from 2-4 p.m. on Nov. 19. Attendees can pick up facemasks and information on safe food handling, COVID-19 safety tips during the holidays and more.

Middle Georgia Cases

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 21,893 cumulative COVID-19 cases in Middle Georgia in its 3 p.m. update Thursday.

Here are key takeaways:

Cases: 21,893. Bibb County has recorded the most cumulative positive cases with 7,098.

Deaths: 750. 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.

Hospitalizations: In Region F, which includes Bibb County and much of Middle Georgia, 76% of hospital beds were in use, 76.96% of ICU beds were in use and 32.44% of adult ventilators were in use.

Cases per person: Baldwin County has the most cases per 100,000 with 5,514. Bibb is next with 4,665 cases per 100,000 people. Crawford has one of the lowest rates in the state, with 1,758 per 100,000.

The following is a breakdown of cumulative cases and deaths for counties in Middle Georgia:

• Bibb 7,098 cases - 215 deaths
  
  
• Houston 4,074 - 101
  
  
• Baldwin 2,450 - 68
  
  
• Laurens 2,151 - 106
  
  

• Washington 925 - 17

• Peach 885- 27

• Monroe 859 - 59
  
  

• Jones 712 - 18

• Dodge 699- 34

• Bleckley 538- 29
  
  
• Wilkinson 402 - 18
  
  
• Pulaski 365 - 24
  
  
• Macon 280 - 14
  
  
• Twiggs 240 - 14
  
  
• Crawford 215- 6
  
  

The state reported 2,735 new cases across the state and 40 new deaths Thursday.

This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 5:03 PM with the headline "Georgia remains in White House ‘red zone’ as COVID-19 cases spike across the country."