As the global death toll from COVID-19 topped two million, Georgia set a single-day record for most deaths with 159 reported on Friday. According to the Georgia State Department of Health, 580 state residents have died in the past four days.
“Behind these terrible numbers are names and faces — the smile that will now only be a memory, the seat forever empty at the dinner table, the room that echoes with the silence of a loved one,” said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
With 141 deaths on Thursday and the 159 reported Friday, 10,878 Georgia citizens have died as a result of COVID-19. In Bulloch County, Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn announced the county’s 40th coronavirus death on Thursday — a 59-year-old woman with no known serious previous health conditions.
While the death count is based on figures supplied by government agencies around the world, the real toll is believed to be significantly higher, in part because of inadequate testing and the many fatalities that were inaccurately attributed to other causes, especially early in the outbreak.
It took eight months to hit 1 million dead. It took less than four months after that to reach the next million.
Vaccine progress
The goal of making more vaccines available around the nation and Georgia continues to see slow progress and the state Department of Health is setting up “Georgia Responds.” The effort is a health and medical volunteer program that matches the skills and credentials of medical and nonmedical volunteers to help stop the spread of COVID-19 in Georgia.
Licensed medical volunteers, including doctors, nurses, pharmacists and advanced EMS personnel may be used to administer vaccinations, while nonmedical volunteers may be used in administrative and other roles.
To volunteer, log on to https://dph.georgia.gov/georgia-responds and click on the “Register Now” box.
The Bulloch County Department of Health is still giving vaccinations and anyone who is eligible to receive their COVID-19 vaccine is encouraged to call (855) 473-4374 to schedule an appointment.
About 10.6 million individuals have received first or second doses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the American Hospital Association estimates that close to 246 million must be vaccinated to reach widespread or “herd” immunity by the summer. Vaccines currently available require two shots to be fully effective.
Local, state cases
Wynn said Bulloch recorded 23 new cases on Thursday and 23 on Friday. Bulloch now has a total of 4,201 COVID, which have resulted in 40 deaths and 173 local residents being hospitalized since the pandemic began in March.
Also, the state Department of Health is reporting an additional 25 deaths in Bulloch probably were caused by COVID. According to the Georgia DPH, the 25 non-confirmed deaths represent Bulloch citizens who received a positive antigen/rapid test for COVID-19, developed COVID-19 symptoms and subsequently died.
Georgia had 6,401 new cases on Thursday and 7,394 on Friday. The state's total number of confirmed cases is now up to 668,068.
Hospitalization
Wynn said East Georgia Regional Medical Center staff on Friday were caring for 30 COVID patients, with 10 patients on ventilators. The hospital has had at least 21 COVID patients in its care since Dec. 21, reaching a peak of 31 patients twice last week.
COVID cases that require hospitalization continue to increase in Georgia, but after setting another single-day high on Wednesday with 6,108 state residents hospitalized with coronavirus, that number dropped to 5,968 hospitalized on Thursday.
Across the United States, cases that require hospitalization have declined slightly since hitting a peak last Wednesday of 132,474 Americans in the hospital with COVID on that day. On Thursday, hospitalizations stood at 128,947.
National case numbers
According to statistics from the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, as of Monday afternoon, 391,098 Americans had died from coronavirus. Also, Johns Hopkins reported the U.S. has had 23,475,380 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.
Bulloch Schools
The Bulloch County Schools system has reported 37 new cases this week for a total of 334 COVID cases since classes started on Aug. 17.
Local colleges
On Monday, Georgia Southern University reported 133 positive cases for the week of Jan. 4-11 – 127 self-reported cases and six university confirmed cases. Georgia Southern next reports on Monday.
East Georgia State College reported three new cases on its three campuses for Monday and Tuesday combined, including one on the Statesboro campus. The college has had a total of 127 cases across its three campuses since Aug. 17.
Ogeechee Technical College reported four new cases for the week of Jan. 4-10. The college had not had a positive case at its Bulloch County campus since the week of Oct. 19–25, but all four cases last week were in Statesboro. Ogeechee Tech has had a total of 43 cases across its campuses since Aug. 17.
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 11:30 a.m. on Mondays only. To schedule a free test, call (855) 473-4374 or visit www.sehdph.org/covid-19, where a test can be scheduled online.
Beginning on Wednesday, Covid-19 testing operated by Mako Medical will be available at Luetta Moore Park, 585 Martin Luther King Drive.
Testing schedule: Monday, Wednesday – 8 a.m.-3 p.m.; Tuesday, Thursday – 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; Friday – 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; second & fourth Saturday of each month – 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
To register, visit https://mako.exchange/splash/GAmakotesting/
Registration will open on Monday or Tuesday. Walk-ups are allowed, but pre-registering is preferred, as it will greatly reduce your wait time.
Once you have been tested, your results should be available within your patient portal in 2-3 days. You can also sign up to receive your results via text when you register for your test.