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One new COVID case in Bulloch; state sees 9-month low
Local vaccine supply on the rise
Corona
Ted Wynn

Bulloch County reported no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on either Saturday or Sunday and only one on Monday, but two more local residents fell victim to the virus.

Also on Monday, the state of Georgia recorded its fewest number of new cases for a single day in nine months.

Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn said the two deaths reported Monday were the 57th and 58th people to die due to COVID. One was an 86-year-old woman and the other was a 67-year-old man and neither reported any previous medical conditions.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported Bulloch continues to see a decline below 100 COVID cases per 100,000 population, which is one of the first goals in getting the virus under control in a geographic area. On Monday, that number was down to 37 cases per 100,000. A month ago, on Feb. 23, Bulloch was at 278 cases per 100,000.

Also, Wynn said the state health department said Bulloch remains below the 5% daily positivity rate of new COVID tests on Monday – another key data point in gaining control of the virus. Bulloch is now at 2.2%. A month ago, on Feb. 23, Bulloch was at 16.3%

 

Local/state COVID cases

Wynn said Bulloch now has a total of 5,129 confirmed cases since the pandemic began in March 2020. The COVID cases have resulted in 58 confirmed deaths and 209 local residents being hospitalized since the pandemic began in March.

Also, the state Department of Health has reported 45 non-confirmed deaths, which represent Bulloch citizens who received a positive antigen/ rapid test for COVID-19, developed COVID-19 symptoms and then died.

Across the state, there were 542 new cases reported on Monday, which is the fewest new cases in a single day since 524 were recorded on June 7.  There were 1,213 on Saturday and 899 on Sunday. The state's total number of confirmed cases is now up to 843,675.

The state reported 26 deaths on Monday, 50 on Saturday and none on Sunday. Georgia’s death toll now stands at 16,171 since March 2020.

 

Vaccinations

Vaccine supply continues to grow locally, with 4,470 additional doses being allocated to Bulloch County in the past week, including the first large scale arrival of the Pfizer vaccine.

According to the Department of Health website, SouthEast Pharmacy in Brooklet received a shipment of 1,170 doses of the Pfizer vaccine.

Also, Statesboro Pediatrics and Family Healthcare Center on Brampton Ave. received 900 doses of the Moderna vaccine, while East Georgia Regional Medical Center and Georgia Southern University Health Services received 500 doses each.

In Bulloch County, vaccine providers, as of Monday afternoon, had administered 23,877 local vaccines, including 8,976 second doses.

Through Monday afternoon, 3,207,113 vaccinations have been administered in Georgia — a total that includes 1,144,323 second doses, according to the Department of Public Health.

Bulloch residents are urged to contact private providers such as East Georgia Regional Medical Center and local pharmacies directly to see if a vaccine appointment is available. Vaccines also are available at Walgreen’s, CVS and Walmart.

 

Hospitalizations

Wynn said East Georgia Regional Medical Center staff on Monday were caring for five COVID patients, with three patients on ventilators.

 

National case numbers

According to statistics from the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, as of Monday afternoon, 542,653 Americans had died from coronavirus. Also, Johns Hopkins reported the U.S. has had 29,850,767 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.

 

Bulloch Schools

The Bulloch County Schools system reported four new cases so far this week, and a total of 612 COVID cases since classes started on Aug. 17.

 

Local colleges

Georgia Southern had 18 total cases reported March 15-21 – 12 self-reported and six university- confirmed cases. GS reported 18 total cases for the week of March 8-14.

Of the cases reported last week, 16 were on the Statesboro campus and two on the Armstrong Savannah campus.

East Georgia State College reported one new case across its three campuses on Saturday, the first positive case since March 9. The college has had a total of 155 cases across its three campuses since Aug. 17.

Ogeechee Technical College reported no new cases across its campuses for the week of March 15–21.

Ogeechee Tech has had a total of 70 cases across its campuses since Aug. 17.

 

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