COVID-19 cases still climbing

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The number of cumulative COVID-19 cases in Hart County continues to increase with 44 new cases added in a week’s time.

Hart County, as of Wednesday's daily status report from the Department of Public Health, has seen 175 positive COVID-19 infections and 21 hospitalizations from the virus since the DPH began tracking cases in March.

There are no deaths reported from the virus in Hart County.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 24 active cases in the county at 18 different addresses, Hart County Administrator and Emergency Management Director Terrell Partain said, which is the highest reported number of active cases in the county since the state began tracking the data.

Partain said Hart County is still adding about three cases per day.

The state’s reporting methods have previously been called into question, but Department of Public Health  District 2 spokesperson Dave Palmer clarified that a positive case is only reported in the cumulative case count one time, even if a patient tests positive for the virus multiple times.

“DPH reports all positive tests that are reported to us. The testing data represent unique tests but not necessarily unique individuals. The case data represent unique individuals, with all of their testing data included in one record,” Palmer said.

The Department of Community Health reports 21 residents at Hart Care Center have tested positive for the virus as of Wednesday and zero have recovered, while 10 staff members in total have tested positive for COVID-19. 

Testing capacity statewide could increase after Gov. Brian Kemp announced Monday that the state is partnering with Raleigh, N.C.-based Mako Medical to provide enough supplies and services for 10,000 tests per day, an increase that will allow Georgians to receive test results within 48 hours, on average.

“Georgia has dramatically expanded testing since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Kemp said. “As demand for testing has soared across the country, many private labs have been unable to process tests quickly enough to aid in contact tracing and mitigation efforts. With some Georgians waiting well over a week for their results, the status quo is unacceptable. This new partnership will not only expand the number of tests the state is able to administer, but also greatly reduce the turnaround time of those tests. This is vital to Georgia’s efforts in our fight against COVID-19.”

Statewide, 3,254 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported. More than 15,400 people in Georgia have been hospitalized with the virus. Nearly 149,000 people have tested positive for the virus across the state.

More than 1,295,000 people have been tested using PCR tests, with 10.5 percent of those tests returning positive. More than 203,000 people have been tested using antibody tests with 5.9 percent of those tests returning positive.