Coronavirus Updates: Hancock County Emerges As New Hotspot
An employee of Costco sprays a disinfectant on shopping carts last month.
Mike Stewart / Associated Press
Hancock County Georgia has become the latest COVID-19 hotspot in Georgia in per capita infections.
The small rural community only has about 8,000 residents, but 167 COVID cases and 15 people there have died as of Thursday afternoon.
About 67% of the cases are in two nursing homes says Michael Hokanson, who is with the Northeast Georgia Health District.
He says not only does the virus spread quickly in closed settings, but staff can carry it into the wider community.
“One of the patterns that we noticed when it comes to long term care facilities is that a lot of these people work multiple jobs, so not only are they working in these outbreak facilities, they could then be going to another environment,” he said.
Hokanson said his health district is doing contact tracing on the people diagnosed with COVID-19.
This comes as the Georgia Department of Health reported more than 40,000 coronavirus cases in the state and 1,775 deaths as of 7:04 p.m. Thursday.
New Testing Sites Coming To Georgia
State officials say 23 new COVID-19 drive-thru testing sites at CVS Pharmacies across Georgia starting Friday.
It’s part of a national effort by CVS Health to get 1,000 locations throughout the country.
Testing doesn’t take place inside the retail area but at the HealthHub and Minute Clinic facilities.
Health Experts Release Guide For Stopping Spread In Nursing Homes
Health experts have released a kind-of roadmap that they say states should use to stop the spread of COVID-19 in nursing homes and assisted living communities.
The American Health Care Association and Center for Assisted Living issued the guidelines Thursday.
Priorities include deploying the National Guard when necessary to specific facilities with outbreaks to help with cleaning, testing and personal protective equipment and staff support.
This comes as nursing homes in rural Georgia are seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Ponce City Market Food Hall Starting To Reopen
Atlanta’s most popular food hall is starting to reopen.
More shops and restaurants at Ponce City Market’s central food area will start serving people this Friday.
Officials say more openings are also expected through Monday, June 1st. All tenants will have to follow a new set of safety and sanitation guidelines … that includes wearing face masks behind the counter.
Delta Is Getting More Planes In The Air
Delta Air Lines says its June schedule will be no where near normal, but the Atlanta-based carrier is planning to put more planes in the air.
Most of the additions are from Atlanta and New York, and between Delta’s hub cities. Internationally, they include Tel Aviv. Frankfurt. Shanghai. San Salvador, among others. Even with the additional flights, the overall schedule is 85-percent leaner than a year ago.
On those planes, Delta says it’s focusing on cleanliness. After every flight, crews are removing blankets and sending them to the laundry. And once passengers deplane, those same crews are grabbing electrostatic sprayers, then dousing the interior from floor to ceiling with disinfectant.
And inside the terminal, passengers will notice Plexiglass shields at all Delta counters. The airline expects those to be in place, ‘system wide’ by the end of the month.
High School Sports Could Come Back In Fall
Friday night lights may be back on again sometime this fall.
The Executive Director of the Georgia High School Association says a plan to restart high school sports will be presented to the Association’s board Thursday.
Robin Hines says a decision could come as soon as Friday.
Hines appeared on the “Georgia Prep Sports: From a Distance” video podcast.
He says he’s hopeful games will happen as scheduled this fall, but adds, there’s no guarantee.
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