The 34th Bulloch County death from COVID-19 was reported Thursday, according to Bulloch County Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn.
Wynn also reported that new COVID-19 cases ticked slightly upwards in Bulloch County, and the White House coronavirus task force moved the state of Georgia back into the most severe category for spread of the virus for the first time since mid-September.
Wynn said Bulloch reported 14 new cases on Thursday. The death was reported to be of an 82-year-old male with no known comorbidities.
In his report Thursday, Wynn said the county has now recorded 3,190 total COVID cases, which have resulted in 34 deaths and 149 local residents being hospitalized since the pandemic began in March.
Positive cases at Georgia Southern have stayed in a range of between 11 and 19 new cases per week since Sept. 26, with 17 cases reported for the week of Nov. 2–8. Eleven of the 17 cases this week were reported on the Statesboro campus.
The university has not reported more than 20 new cases in any single week since Sept. 20.
Georgia Southern will report again next Monday, Nov. 16.
The United States as a whole is setting records for new cases on an almost daily basis. The virus is blamed for more than 242,000 deaths and over 10.5 million confirmed infections in the U.S., with the country facing what health experts say will be a dark winter because of disregard for mask-wearing and other precautions, the onset of cold weather and crowded holiday gatherings.
Locally, East Georgia Regional Medical Center staff were caring for seven COVID patients, with three patients on ventilators.
Bulloch EMS has transported a total of 131 people with probable COVID-19 and 150 with confirmed cases.
Georgia reported 2,547 new cases on Thursday, and 70 new deaths, raising the total death toll to 8,403.
Bulloch Schools
Bulloch County Schools recorded 18 new cases since November 8. The schools system now has had a total of 151 COVID cases since Aug. 17.
Local colleges
East Georgia State College reported no new cases of COVID-19 on its Statesboro campus over the week and has recorded only one new case since Oct. 21.
Ogeechee Technical College reported no new COVID cases over the previous seven-day period and has had only one new case since Oct. 19. The college has had a total of 37 cases across its campuses since Aug. 17. OTC will report again on Monday, Nov. 16.
Testing sites
The Bulloch County Health Department, 1 W. Altman St. in Statesboro, continues to serve as a COVID-19 testing site, or specimen point of collection. It operates 8 a.m. till noon Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. To schedule a free test, call (855) 473-4374 or visit www.sehdph.org/covid-19, where a test can be scheduled online.
Additional free COVID-19 testing continues Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon at Luetta Moore Park, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.