Decatur Co. reports 85 confirmed COVID-19 cases

Published 3:11 pm Friday, May 1, 2020

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s shelter-in-place order ended Thursday at midnight for most state residents, but he continued to warn people ages 65 and older, seniors living in long-term care facilities and persons with certain chronic health issues of their continued risk of Coronavirus.

“The health and well-being of Georgians are my top priorities, and my decisions are based on data and advice from health officials,” said Kemp. “I will do what is necessary to protect the lives and livelihoods of our people.”

In Decatur County, the confirmed case count has risen to 85 cases with one death reportedly resulting from the virus. Dougherty County, Southwest Georgia’s biggest hot spot, has reported 1,523 cases and 123 deaths as of Friday afternoon.

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Fulton County leads the state in confirmed cases with 2,850.

Between Monday, April 26, and Thursday, April 30, Georgia more than doubled the number of tests reported the previous week. In March, the state announced a partnership with the University System of Georgia, Georgia Public Health Laboratory and Emory University to process more than 3,000 samples a day, helping Georgians get quicker testing results.

“I want to thank our many partners in this fight for their incredible work to increase access to COVID-19 testing across the state,” said Kemp in an official release. “Thanks to Georgia’s partnership with our university system, the private sector, and local public health officials, we ended April by setting a single day testing record, reporting over 20,000 tests on April 30 alone. This is great progress for our state, but we refuse to rest on our laurels. In the days ahead, we will continue to increase access to coronavirus testing across Georgia.”

On April 30, Georgia reported a single-day record of 20,675 tests.