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COVID deaths, cases falling around nation
Bulloch reports three cases in past two days
Covid

COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have tumbled to an average of around 600 per day – the lowest level in 10 months – with the number of lives lost dropping to single digits in well over half the states and, on some days, hitting zero.

In fact, Georgia revised its statistics and reported zero COVID deaths on both Sunday and Monday earlier this week.

Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins University, said that vaccinations have played a crucial role even as the nation struggles to reach herd immunity.

“The primary objective is to deny this virus the ability to kill at the rate that it could, and that has been achieved," he said. “We have in effect tamed the virus.”

Several states, including Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska and Hawaii, were averaging fewer than one death per day over the past week, according to data through Tuesday from Johns Hopkins.

And even among the five states with the highest daily deaths — Michigan with an average of 65.4, Florida with 61.7, California with 48, Texas with 44 and New York with 39.3 — all but Florida's number is going down.

California, the epicenter of the U.S. outbreak over the winter, logged 1,231 confirmed infections Wednesday, down from 40,000 at its peak. Los Angeles County reported 18 deaths Tuesday, versus more than 200 a day in January.

Vermont, which at nearly 63% leads the country in the share of its population that has received at least one vaccine dose, has gone nearly a week without reporting a COVID-19 death.

About 45% of the nation's adults are fully vaccinated, and nearly 59% have received at least one dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This week, Pfizer's vaccine won authorization for use in 12- to 15-year-olds.

And on Wednesday, a steady stream of children and their parents arrived at an Atlanta-area clinic to become the vanguard in the nation’s new effort to vaccinate 12- to 15-year-olds.

More than 1,000 youngsters had appointments at the DeKalb Pediatric Center in Decatur to receive the Pfizer vaccine, which U.S. regulators recently endorsed for children as young as 12. It’s a decision that’s seen as a breakthrough in allowing classroom instruction to resume safely around the country.

 

Local, state cases

Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn said Bulloch had one new case on Wednesday and two on Tuesday.

The county now has a total of 5,279 confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. Overall, the COVID cases have resulted in 64 confirmed deaths and 221 local residents being hospitalized since the pandemic began in March.

East Georgia Regional Medical Center reported treating six COVID-19 patients, with two on ventilators Wednesday.

Across the state, there were 590 new cases on Wednesday and 756 on Tuesday. The state's total number of confirmed cases is now up to 887,979.

The state reported 28 deaths on Wednesday and 21 on Tuesday. Georgia’s death toll now stands at 17,750 since March 2020.

 

National cases

According to statistics from the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, as of Wednesday afternoon, 583,467 Americans had died from coronavirus.

Also, Johns Hopkins reported the U.S. has had 32,805,201 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic. Confirmed infections have fallen to about 38,000 per day on average, their lowest mark since mid-September. While that is still cause for concern, they have plummeted 85% from a peak of more than a quarter-million per day in early January.

 

Bulloch Schools

The Bulloch County Schools system has had no new cases so far this week. A total of 648 COVID cases have been reported since classes started on Aug. 17. Since the beginning of March, the system has reported a total of 53 new cases.

 

Local colleges

Georgia Southern had six total cases reported May 2–8 — five self-reported and one university-confirmed case. GS reported seven total cases for the week of April 26-May 2.

East Georgia State College has reported no new cases since April 18. The college has had a total of 159 cases across its three campuses since Aug. 17.

Ogeechee Technical College reported no new cases the week of May 2–8. Ogeechee Tech has had a total of 73 cases across its campuses since Aug. 17.

 

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