As coronavirus cases continue to climb in Georgia, state officials are racing to ensure hospitals can handle a surge in critically ill patients — now expected in about two weeks.
At the same time, Gov. Brian Kemp has quietly started planning to reopen Georgia for business, though exactly when that might happen is unknown.
Here’s a look at major pandemic developments in the state over the past week:
Credit: Kevin C. Cox
Credit: Kevin C. Cox
Kemp begins discussions to reopen Georgia
Aides to the governor acknowledged Thursday that Kemp has consulted with business and political leaders about how soon he should ease restrictions that have devastated the state’s economy, but slowed the virus’ spread.
These discussions are in the early stage, the aides said. But they reflect Kemp’s eagerness to move past a public health crisis that has, so far, left hundreds of Georgians dead and thousands more sickened.
In a statement released by his office late Thursday, Kemp said Georgia will follow federal guidelines and collaborate with health and emergency management officials to “develop a plan for safely returning to more routine operations.”
Kemp’s tentative moves toward ending the state’s lockdown worry public health experts. They warn that acting too soon could undermine efforts to combat the virus and possibly lead to a stronger outbreak.
MORE: Everything you need to know about the coronavirus in Georgia
Georgia to ramp up testing
Georgia will dramatically expand testing for the novel coronavirus.
For the first time, tests will be offered to anyone displaying symptoms of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, state officials said Wednesday. Those symptoms include fever, fatigue and a dry cough.
But the state’s public health department has only 5,000 test kits on hand, a tiny fraction of the number that experts say are needed to track and contain the virus. The state has signed a contract to buy additional kits from a Sandy Springs-based company, Ipsum Diagnostics, which recently received emergency federal approval to deploy its newly developed tests.
Ipsum has “assured us they can supply the kits we need,” said Nancy Nydam, a spokeswoman for the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Georgia is now operating 35 testing sites and intends to set up more. Anyone with coronavirus symptoms can make an appointment for testing by calling a county health department or after getting a physician’s referral. Health departments will screen patients over the telephone and direct them to a testing site.
Most specimens will be collected at drive-through sites, which limit contact between people who may have the virus and health care workers. Some so-called rapid tests can show results in a few hours, while others require more extensive analysis in a laboratory.
State officials race to prepare hospitals for surge
Kemp said Monday that hundreds of beds for noncritical coronavirus patients could be quickly set up at the Georgia World Congress Center in downtown Atlanta. This would free up space in hospitals for sicker patients. Statewide demand on health-care resources is expected to peak around May 1.
Kemp said an inventory of hospital capacity shows that Georgia facilities have more than 9,000 beds: 2,617 in emergency rooms, 929 in critical-care units and 6,000 on general inpatient wards.
Shortages of hospital beds may be especially acute in southwest Georgia, which continues to be the state’s hardest-hit region.
Credit: Cox Media Group
Credit: Cox Media Group
Georgia jobless benefit claims surge again
The Georgia Department of Labor said Thursday it had processed 318,581 claims for jobless benefits from the previous week, as the avalanche of job losses continued because of the pandemic.
The state has processed about 861,000 claims – more than one-sixth of the state’s work force – in the four weeks through April 11 and paid more than a half-billion dollars in benefits to jobless workers.
“We are reaching unprecedented claim levels,” said Mark Butler, the state’s labor commissioner.
The huge number of claims means that many people who file will not receive payments for at least several weeks — and many who already filed will continue to wait for the money to show up.
Gig, contract and self-employed workers, as well as employees of churches and nonprofits, are now eligible for benefits, as well as workers with limited work history.
The collapse of the labor market accelerated in April, so this month’s numbers are expected to worsen dramatically. The highest jobless rate on record in Georgia was 10.6%, a level reached in 2010 after the Great Recession when about 500,000 Georgians were officially unemployed.
Staff writers Carrie Teegardin, J. Scott Trubey, Michael E. Kanell and Greg Bluestein, as well as audience specialist Pete Corson and data specialist John Perry contributed to this article.
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