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Hospitalizations up here, 183 students on quarantine
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The number of new COVID-19 cases in Grady County is up slightly over last week, and one more death of a local resident from the disease caused by the novel coronavirus has been recorded, according to state public health officials.
A 75-year-old white male with a comorbidity is the 23rd Grady County resident listed as dying from COVID-19.
Information from the Georgia Department of Public Health indicates there are 36 new cases in the last seven days that involve Grady County residents, for a total of 814 cases here since the pandemic began.
Grady General Hospital was treating six positive patients, as of Tuesday, while Archbold Memorial Hospital in Thomasville had 12 patients and the Mitchell County Hospital in Camilla had three, according to Ashley Griffin, spokeswoman for Archbold Medical Centers, which operates the hospitals.
The Grady County School System reports that as of Tuesday, five students were reported as testing positive for COVID-19, two at Cairo High School, and one each at Southside Elementary School, Washington Middle School and Whigham School.
There were four school employees who had tested positive, as of Tuesday, one each at C.H.S., Shiver School, W.M.S., and Whigham.
As of Tuesday, there were 183 students on quarantine, 95 at C.H.S., 10 at Eastside Elementary School, 17 at Northside Elementary School, 10 at Shiver, one at Southside, 22 at W.M.S. and 28 at Whigham. There were 12 employees on quarantine as of Tuesday, three at C.H.S., one at Eastside, two at Northside, and six at W.M.S.
The Grady County Health Department is continuing to conduct testing dates at its location, 1030 Fourth St., S.E., Cairo, during the month of October, including one Saturday.
Testing dates here during October include Thursday, Oct. 8; Monday, Oct. 12; Wednesday, Oct. 14; Friday, Oct. 16 and 23; Tuesday, Oct. 20 and 27; and Saturday, Oct. 31. Hours are the same for each date, 8 a.m. until 11 a.m. Free testing is offered every day but Sunday somewhere in Southwest Georgia, and people may go to any convenient testing site with an appointment.
Appointments may be made by calling the hotline at (229) 352-6567 or by finding a link online at either covid.19.dph.ga.gov or southwestgeorgiapublichealth.org.
The state has received its first shipment of Abbott BinaxNOW Rapid COVID-19 Tests that will be used for schools, colleges and universities, and among first responders and other critical areas of need in communities statewide.
“Our public health district staff will work with schools and other community partners to distribute and facilitate use of the tests with the necessary oversight from trained healthcare professionals,” said Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H. “Having these rapid tests available will help us quickly identify people who are sick, isolate them, and prevent further spread of COVID-19 among families, close contacts and entire communities.”
The BinaxNow tests require a nasal swab for specimen collection and results are available in 15 minutes. BinaxNOW are meant to be used for individuals with symptoms of COVID-19, ideally within the first seven days of feeling sick.
Compared to state and national figures, Grady County COVID cases and deaths continues to hover higher than average. The COVID-19 Health Equity Interactive Dashboard by Emory University states, “As of 10/5/2020, the daily average of new COVID-19 cases in Grady County numbered 20 case(s) per 100,000 residents. In comparison, the daily average in Georgia was 12 case(s) per 100,000 and in the United States was 14 case(s) per 100,000.
“As of 10/5/2020, the daily average of new COVID-19 deaths in Grady County numbered 0.6 death(s) per 100,000 residents. In comparison, the daily average in Georgia was 0.3 death(s) per 100,000 and in the United States was 0.2 death(s) per 100,000.”
Neighboring counties, for the most part, experienced a leveling off or even drop in new cases in the last week.
Thomas, Mitchell and Decatur counties had 23, 13 and 60 new cases over the week, with three, three and zero new deaths, respectively.
In Florida, Leon County saw a drop in new cases with only 291 in the last week compared to 472 the previous week. The number of deaths from COVID-19 there remained the same this week at 14. Gadsden County had 84 new cases this week, compared to 89 the previous week, and also had two new deaths, the same as the week prior.
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