On the same day COVID-19 appeared in Bulloch County schools, the City of Statesboro enacted a face mask ordinance. Bulloch County reported 11 more cases of coronavirus Wednesday, adding up to a total of 1,427 cases since the pandemic began.

Bulloch County Schools issued an alert Wednesday that two cases of COVID-19 were reported – one at Mattie Lively Elementary and one at Langston Chapel Middle schools.

While the Statesboro City Council voted Tuesday on a mask ordinance following Gov. Brian Kemp’s mandates, Bulloch County Commissioners tabled the issue after a discussion Tuesday. Bulloch County Commission Chairman Roy Thompson said commissioners expect to vote on the matter Sept. 1.

Bulloch County Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn said there were 20 patients with the virus being cared for at East Georgia Regional Medical Center Wednesday, five of whom were on ventilators. Since the pandemic began, Bulloch has seen 99 hospitalizations and 18 deaths, with Bulloch County EMs having transported a total of 94 patients with probable COVID and 80 who were confirmed to have the coronavirus, he said.

The Department of Public Health, at one time Wednesday, reported 19 deaths from COVID in Bulloch, but that had not been confirmed as there were “problems” Wednesday with the DPH website, Wynn said.

Statewide, the Georgia Department of Public Health reported 2,391 confirmed new cases Wednesday and 56 more deaths along with 235 new hospitalizations, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 243,982 in the state. 4,849 Georgians have now died due to the virus, 22,664 have been hospitalized with 4,143 having been admitted to ICUs.