While Bulloch County saw 24 new COVID-19 cases appear Wednesday, the good news is there were no coronavirus patients on ventilators at East Georgia Regional Hospital that day.
Bulloch County Public Safety/Emergency Management Agency Director Ted Wynn said there were 18 COVID-19 patients being treated at the hospital Wednesday. The number of Bulloch County residents who have died from the virus remains at 16, with two women, ages 60 and 67, now being reported by the state after their deaths last week, he said.
Wednesday’s totals for Bulloch County reached 1,334 confirmed cases to date. There have been 89 people hospitalized, with 88 probable and 73 confirmed positive patients transported by Bulloch County EMS, he said.
On Wednesday, Georgia reported 109 deaths, after it set a single-day record of 137 deaths on Tuesday. Prior to Tuesday, the most deaths reported in one day was 92. The total death count in Georgia now stands at 4,456. Total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia rose by 3,660 on Wednesday to 226,153 cases.
In the United States, as of Wednesday afternoon, there have been 5,187,611 total confirmed coronavirus cases and 165,831 total deaths, according to statistics from Johns Hopkins University of Medicine.
Wednesday’s COVID figures come as school districts across the state report multiple cases of the virus among students and staff. Fortunately, very few children die of the disease, which is most dangerous for older people and those with prior medical conditions.
Cherokee County’s school district said Tuesday that it has had 59 cases confirmed among students and staff, which led it to establish a two-week quarantine for 925 students and staff, according to media reports. In-person classes have been put on hold at Etowah High School in Cherokee.
Near Augusta, all five Columbia County high schools have reported at least one person testing positive for COVID-19 since classes began last week, according to the Augusta Chronicle. At least one person also has tested positive at one of the county’s eight middle schools.
Candler County Schools said on its website that “we had at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 among staff and a few students who have self-reported as being positive as well. There have also been several negative tests and even some still awaiting results.”
The Georgia High School Association said Tuesday that 866 student-athletes in Georgia have tested positive for the coronavirus since schools were allowed to begin summer practice June 8.
Wynn reminds people that free face mask distribution continues this week at the SCVB/Statesboro Convention and Visitors Bureau on South Main Street: Thursday and Friday from 5-7 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 12 noon.