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The total number of confirmed COVID-19 in White County since the start of the pandemic remained at 83 total, according to the 12:25 p.m. update on Thursday, May 7. (Image from Department of Public Health)
The total number of confirmed COVID-19 in White County since the start of the pandemic remained at 83, according to the 12:25 p.m. update on Thursday, May 7, on the Georgia Department of Public Health's website. In White County, there have been 19 hospitalizations and one reported death reported on May 5, according to Georgia DPH.
On Monday, May 4, White County's emergency management office released a new statistic that they are now tracking – recoveries. There have been 34 case of recovery from COVID-19 as of the Thursday, May 7, county report. A patient is considered to have recovered 21 days after a confirmed case report is provided to the county. This information will be issued twice a week.
"We now have the capability to track these internal patients, and we know when the 21-day is initiated as recovered," said White County Emergency Management & Public Safety Director David Murphy about the new statistic on May 4, adding that it was a local decision to calculate recoveries from the Georgia DPH case report.
Total confirmed cases listed in the daily Georgia DPH reports do not differentiate between how many are active infections and those who have recovered. A spokesman with the state public health's district office previously said recovery cases were not tracked by the department because many people infected with COVID-19 do not seek medical care and, therefore, any number they would have would not be accurate. Federal medical privacy laws prohibit release of information to media identifying those who have been diagnosed. Health officials have also said that some with the coronavirus might not show symptoms of COVID-19.
The first confirmed case in White County was reported by DPH on Wednesday, March 25. On Tuesday, May 5, there were 83 confirmed cases with the 6:30 p.m. update.
With the 12:25 p.m. update on May 7, there were 31,309 confirmed cases in Georgia, 5,816 people hospitalized, 1,336 ICU admissions and 1,336 deaths.
The Georgia Department of Public Health is now providing updates every hour on their website. Confirmed patients are listed based on their residence. The website does not add new cases in real time, and there can be a lag in when a positive test is determined by a local healthcare provider and the state's reporting of a confirmed case in the online update.
Health officials are urging the public to help stop further spread of the coronavirus:
• Stay home – the Governor has issued a shelter-in-place Executive Order that should be observed by elderly and the medically fragile.
• Practice social distancing – keep at least 6 feet between yourself and other people.
• Wash your hands – use soap and water and scrub for at least 20 seconds. Use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (60% alcohol) if soap and water aren’t readily available.
• Wear a mask – The CDC now recommends the use of face masks to help slow the spread of COVID-19, especially where socials distancing is difficult to maintain (grocery stores, pharmacies, etc.), and especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. The CDC also advises the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and do not know it from transmitting it to others.
Continuing coverage of the COVID-19 can be found on whitecountnews.net and in the latest edition of the White County News.