Three additional cases of novel coronavirus were reported Tuesday morning in Southeast Georgia, according to the state Department of Public Health.
Of the six Southeast Georgia counties tracked by News4Jax, Ware County has been hit the hardest, with a total of 135 cases reported, an increase of two when compared to Monday evening’s report, and 37 people hospitalized. The county reported its 12th coronavirus-related death Monday.
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Charlton County reported one new case Tuesday morning, bringing its total reported cases to 13 with three hospitalizations.
A total of 19 deaths have been reported in the region as of Tuesday, which has 314 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The statewide death toll reached 1,258, an increase of 14, as of 11:25 a.m. Tuesday, days after Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp allowed a statewide shelter-in-place order to expire. Kemp is extending his emergency powers to June 12 and telling the elderly and medically fragile to stay at home until then.
Across the state, infections have been confirmed in 29,560 people, an increase of 118 new cases when compared to Monday evening’s report.
For more data, visit the Georgia Department of Public Health website.
Like other places that house and care for older adults, the Park Springs community near Atlanta is working to prevent a widespread outbreak of the coronavirus. But Park Springs has taken one unusual step. Since the end of March, the facility has had employees live on its campus. About 70 employees of what is usually a staff of 300 are sheltering in place alongside residents in the upscale community. They’re making sacrifices. Some stay in tents. One employee missed her sister’s wedding. Another has weekly date nights with his wife across a fence. But most say they’ll stay as long as it takes to keep residents safe.
An aerospace company has announced it laid off nearly 700 employees at its Georgia facility amid the coronavirus pandemic. News outlets reported Monday that Gulfstream laid off 699 employees in Savannah due to a decline in revenue. A company spokeswoman says cost cutting measures Gulfstream put in place weren’t sufficient to overcome the effect of the virus outbreak on their operations. Some employees that were laid off may receive severance pay and get their benefits extended. The Savannah Morning News reported last week the company experienced a $549 million decline in revenue during the first quarter of this year.
Volunteers at a Georgia dental college who started using a 3D printer to make nasal swabs used in test kits for the coronavirus are now a major part of the state’s effort to expand testing.
Dr. Jeffrey James says his crew at Augusta University began by printing 300 swabs a day. Now at the urging of state officials, they’re working around the clock to produce 5,000 swabs daily. It’s an example of how Georgia is scrambling to increase testing for the virus after Gov. Kemp has lifted a shelter-at-home order for most people and reopened many businesses. There are some signs of improvement. Georgia had administered 84,300 tests as of April 20. That number is now more than 200,800, as of Monday.
Even with some businesses reopening and a statewide shelter-in-place order lifted, the coronavirus outbreak continues to keep Georgia courts from returning to normal operations. Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Harold Melton on Monday announced that he’s extending a statewide judicial emergency through mid-June. That means civil and criminal jury trials will continue to be on hold and no jurors or grand jurors will be called to serve.