Over a weekend that saw Georgia become the 10th state in the nation to report that it has surpassed 5,000 deaths caused by COVID-19, Bulloch County recorded its lowest weekend total of confirmed cases in the past two months.
The Georgia Department of Public Health said there were 140 deaths reported for Saturday and Sunday, which pushed the total to at least 5,132 deaths in the state caused by the coronavirus and almost 254,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases.
Meanwhile, Bulloch County Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn said Bulloch had five confirmed cases Sunday and seven Saturday for a total of 12, the lowest weekend sum since June 13-14. There have been 1,472 confirmed cases in Bulloch County, 19 deaths and 103 hospitalizations since the start of the pandemic.
Data kept by The Associated Press shows the coronavirus has been spreading in Georgia faster per-capita than any other state over the past two weeks, although infection numbers have been declining in the state since their peak last month.
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who was among the first governors to ease earlier restrictions this spring, highlighted the downward trends this past week. He has used social media to remind residents to wear a mask, maintain social distancing and follow guidance from the health department.
More than 176,000 people have died of coronavirus in the U.S., the most of any other country, according to Johns Hopkins University. Georgia, the eighth-most populous state, ranks 10th in overall coronavirus deaths.
Still, state health officials said heart disease and cancer kill more people in Georgia each year than any other condition, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. Over the approximately six months since the virus was first reported in Georgia, COVID-19 deaths would rank third, the newspaper reported.
Schools and universities
The fight against COVID-19 in Georgia is now largely playing out on college campuses and at public schools across the state.
Bulloch County started classes last Monday and in the first week, a total of 82 individuals from the schools, including students as well as some faculty and staff members, are in quarantine. But that does not mean they are all ill. There have been only the six confirmed cases. No new cases or quarantines were reported Friday, as of 5 p.m.
Georgia Southern University also started classes last Monday, but won’t report any COVID cases or quarantines until early this week.
In Cherokee County, 2,000 students are in quarantine. More than 100 football players at Newnan High School are in quarantine because of a teammate who tested positive for the virus.
Georgia College in Milledgeville has recorded a total of 223 COVID-19 cases since it began tracking cases in mid-June. A Georgia State University quarterback says he has a heart condition related to COVID-19 and is out for the season.
Public Health officials announced late Friday some positive trends, including:
The seven-day average of new cases reported is down 30% from our peak July 24.
Daily hospitalizations have decreased almost 25 percent since a daily high of 3,200 July 30.