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The Hartwell Sun
The number of active novel coronavirus cases in the county has stayed about the same week-to-week, local officials say, as the number of cumulative cases in Hart County grew to 39 as of Tuesday.
County administrator and emergency management director Terrell Partain said there are currently six active cases of COVID-19 in Hart County as of Tuesday.
Active cases have remained in the four to seven range for several weeks now, Partain said, and Hart County has not seen a high rate of community transmission. He said the low number of cases reported in the county could be attributed to not having a testing site here.
“Franklin County has seen a spike,” Partain said. “But Franklin County has a test site. The more people you test, the more positives that will show up.”
The Department of Public Health lists Hart County as having just one hospitalization due to the virus and zero deaths.
In neighboring Franklin County, the number of cumulative cases grew to 134 this week, up from 104 cases reported on June 2, with 11 hospitalizations and one death being reported by the Department of Public Health. Franklin County saw an increase from 44 cases on May 20 to 104 on June 2, according to a report from the Franklin County Citizen Leader.
Hartwell Health and Rehabilitation still lists 10 residents as testing positive for COVID-19, with zero recoveries so far, according to the Department of Community Health. Previously, 12 staff members at the facility tested positive as well.
No other nursing homes in Hart County are listed as having any confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to the Department of Community Health.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the virus mainly spreads through person-to-person contact. While the virus can spread on surfaces, the CDC says that is not the main mode of transmission.
Statewide, there have been a total of 2,285 deaths attributed to the virus as of Tuesday, and more than 8,800 hospitalizations. There are more than 53,000 confirmed cases in the state, according to the public health department.
More than 550,000 viral PCR/molecular tests have been administered in Georgia, according to the Department of Public Health, and more than 105,000 antibody tests have been administered.
Three detention officers at the Hart County jail and one inmate who previously tested positive for the virus via nasal swab, tested negative for the virus in an antibody test.
Economy
Gov. Brian Kemp’s office reported this week net tax revenues for the month of May were down 10.1 percent.
Georgia’s May net tax collections totaled $1.58 billion for a decrease of $178 million, or negative 10.1 percent, compared to May 2019 when net tax collections totaled nearly $1.76 billion, according to the governor’s office.
Locally, both the Hart County Board of Commissioners and the Hart County Board of Education reported strong sales tax collections for the previous month.