COVID Cases Rise Statewide As Retreat Sees Some Virus Recovery
Record COVID cases are being reported statewide as Jasper County reaches 869 collectively with 421 confirmed cases and 448 presumative cases, according to North Central Health District (NCHD) statistics reported January 5.
Relative to the Retreat, Jasper Health Services Administrator Jan Gaston reported that the local facility had one resident test positive last December 31 and one test positive January 4. “The facility is still designated a COVID facility; however, residents are improving every day and being reclassified by CMS guidelines as recovered and no longer contagious,” she said.
The NCHD update also included vaccination information that explains that distribution is currently in Phase 1A of COVID-19 vaccine distribution. Phase 1A includes healthcare personnel including, but not limited to, public health staff, hospital staff, EMS and first responders who respond to medical calls, urgent care staff, staff in clinical settings, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, EMS, laboratory staff, environmental services, and residents and employees of long-term care facilities.
On December 30, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced the plans to expand Phase 1A vaccination eligibility to all adults over age 65 and all first responders. This expansion is expected to begin within the next few weeks, however it is dependent on how much of the vaccine is received locally. The NCHD will announce local expansion when it is implemented. Appointments for vaccination are booked through the week of January 11, according to the update.
In related news, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) announced the state’s first discovered case of the COVID-19 variant, the same variant discovered in the U.K. and in several other countries and states. The variant was discovered during analysis of a specimen sent by a pharmacy in Georgia to a commercial lab. The Georgia resident is an 18-year-old male with no travel history, and is currently in isolation at home. DPH is working to identify close contacts of the individual and will monitor them closely and test them for the variant.
“The emergence of this variant in our state should be a wake-up call for all Georgians,” said DPH Commissioner Katheen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H. “Even as we begin roll out of a COVID-19 vaccine, we must not let down our guard and ignore basic prevention measures – wear a mask, social distance and wash your hands frequently.”
