Summary Report GA Gov. Kemp’s TV Town Hall
As Georgia climbs the national charts in an undesirable direction, with a huge jump in the rate of infection and more deaths per case than more than 40 other states, Governor Brian Kemp (R) still maintains that “more drastic measures weren’t yet needed to stem the disease’s spread.”
In a prime time town hall last night, viewers witnessed that the approach their state government has chosen contrasts sharply with the steps the most adversely impacted metro area would like to see.
“I’m having to govern the whole state,” (Kemp) said, “We still have over 50 counties that don’t have a confirmed case yet. We’re trying to balance that.”
Contrasting the governor’s laissez-faire attitude toward aggressive response to the pandemic was Atlanta’s Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who skillfully included Kemp in her condemnation but managed to leave him out by name..
“If it were my call, I would have a stay-at-home order for the entire country,” Bottoms said. “But obviously, that is not my call.”
Residents in GA peppered the governor with questions at hashtag #AskGovKemp on Twitter, which generated more than 3,300 replies. He was pressed
. . .about his opposition to expanding the Medicaid program, a question he sidestepped Thursday, while others demanded more details about an ongoing shortage of test kits. . .
(SNIP)
. . .many wanted to know why he has refused to impose more stringent restrictions that a growing number of local leaders have embraced, a topic that emerged repeatedly. . .
Kemp did extend the timetable for all Georgia schools to remain closed from March 31 to April 24, which leaves about one month of classroom instruction left in this school year after that date.
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Georgia Department of Public Health Statistics
Updates Now Issued at Noon and 7:00 PM
3/3/2020 First day of reporting 3 cases, 0 deaths
3/12/2020 First death reported 1 death
3/17/2020 Week 2 146 cases, 1 death
3/25/2020 Week 3 1,247 cases, 40 deaths
3/27/2020 Noon report
Total |
2001 (100%) |
Hospitalized |
566 (28.29%) |
Deaths
|
64 (3.2%)
|
These statistics indicate a decrease in the percentage of cases needing hospitalization since Wednesday’s report, but a very small increase in the death rate.
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Discussion
The 18-59 age group of infected maintains the greatest number of cases at 57%, a decline of 2% over the last report; others essentially remain the same, although “unknown” is creeping up and now stands at 8% of all cases, a 3% increase over last report. Could this be indicative of increased pressure from mounting case numbers and severity of cases resulting in rushed histories being left incomplete?
Female: 49% Male: 46% Unknown: 5% I have no explanation for “unknown.”
Statewide testing shows an increase of more than 1000 tests performed in last two days with an increase of 754 in the number of positives in that time.
Coronavirus testing statewide has increased by 2000 in the last two days.
Lab |
Number of Positive Tests |
Total Tests |
Commercial Lab |
1739 |
8119 |
GPHL |
262 |
1746
|
Of the nearly 10,000 total tests, about 20% test positive. Fulton County leads the number two county in infected by more than 62% with 307.
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News You Can Use
Ga. inmate dies from COVID-19 as outbreak worsens at prison
The City of Atlanta and Fulton County have both declared a state of emergency over the coronavirus. More information can be found on the Atlanta and Fulton County websites.
Resources
Useful information published by Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Interactive Map of GA Covid-19 Cases
State of GA Covid-19 Hotline: