Bulloch County passed 30 COVID-19 deaths Friday as Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn announced two local residents succumbed to the virus.
Wynn said the victims were a 79-year-old man and a 67-year-old man. Neither had any comorbidities, he said.
Bulloch had five new cases Friday, and now has recorded 2,947 COVID cases, which have resulted in 31 deaths and 135 local residents being hospitalized since the pandemic began in March.
In his report Friday, Wynn said East Georgia Regional Medical Center staff were caring for six patients, with three patients on ventilators.
Bulloch EMS has transported a total of 125 people with probable COVID-19 and 133 with confirmed cases, he said. EMS has not transported any probable or confirmed COVID patients since Sept. 29.
Georgia reported 1,695 new cases on Friday, bringing the state’s total number of confirmed cases up to 329,032. Georgia reported 56 deaths Friday, raising the death toll to 7,348.
As of Friday afternoon, 213,360 Americans had died from coronavirus, and the U.S. had recorded 7,645,302 confirmed cases, according to statistics from the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
Bulloch schools
For the third day in a row, Bulloch County Schools recorded no new cases among students and staff Friday and now has had a total of 97 COVID cases since Aug. 17. Through Friday, only four additional staff members or students have been placed under quarantine this week, including none on Friday. The school system had 64 new quarantines last week, which was the fewest in a single week since schools opened on Aug. 17.
Local colleges
For the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4, Georgia Southern University reported 12 total cases. It marked the fifth consecutive week of a decline in cases. GS will report again on Monday.
For Friday, East Georgia State College reported one new case of COVID-19. The college has had a total of 84 cases across its three campuses since Aug. 17.
Ogeechee Technical College reported two COVID cases on its Bulloch County campus the week of Sept. 28-Oct. 4. The college has had a total of 32 cases across its campuses since Aug. 17.
OTC will report again on Monday.
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 Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Luetta Moore Park, 121 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.