Georgia declares public health emergency, sees largest jump in coronavirus cases so far; 64 people now have COVID-19

Churches around Georgia are being asked by state officials to cancel worship services and residents are encouraged to engage in social distancing after the state saw its largest 24-hour increase in the number of new cases of the coronavirus disease known as COVID-19, Gov. Brian Kemp announced as he declared a public health emergency on Saturday morning.

There are now 64 cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, up from about 31 on Thursday. Cobb, Bartow and DeKalb counties have seen their number of COVID-19 cases double overnight.

“Over the past few weeks, our state has been facing an unprecedented public health threat with the spread of novel coronavirus,” Kemp said. “In only a matter of days, communities within the metro Atlanta area and north Georgia have seen several cases, including hospitalizations where the source of the infection is unknown.

“Many of these cases have no connection to travel and the capacity of our health system remains at the forefront of my mind as we prepare for more local transmission.”

Some of the big changes announced by the governor on Saturday include the state’s request for churches to forego services, and the news that Kemp will call a special session of the General Assembly on Monday to ratify measures the state is taking to fight the virus as part of the public health emergency declaration.

The declaration allows the state to deploy resources needed to fight the virus and temporarily lifts restrictions on commercial vehicle operations such as hours of operation, weight, height and lengths. The declaration also lets Georgia Composite Medical Board and Georgia Board of Nursing grant temporary licenses to people who are in good standing in other states to help with response efforts.

“This public health emergency is unprecedented for the State of Georgia, and I do not take this action lightly,” Kemp said. “It is a more specialized form of a state of emergency and allows for a more robust response to crisis specifically in the health care sector.”

The General Assembly had suspended its 2020 legislative session because of the threat of coronavirus. Kemp said he had the support of Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Speaker of the House David Ralston in calling for the special session, however.

Meanwhile, the request to places of worship comes after at least some cases in Bartow County showed up in people linked to the same church.

Kemp is also telling state agencies to let employees telework if they have the ability to do so.

“We have fully activated the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security State Operations Center,” Kemp said.

Cobb, Fulton, Bartow and DeKalb counties have the largest number of cases in the state. There are 15 cases in Cobb County, 11 cases in Fulton County, eight cases in DeKalb and seven cases in Bartow. There are also five cases in Cherokee County, four cases in Fayette County, three cases in Floyd County, two in Coweta County, two cases in Gordon County, two in Gwinnett, and one case each in Lee, Henry, Lowndes, Polk and Charlton counties.

Kemp said the state is working on setting up remote testing sites in all regions of Georgia and testing is expected to increase in the coming days. The remote locations are expected to be announced early next week.

“We have to remain vigilant, especially for our most vulnerable populations,” Kemp said. “For weeks now, my team has been working around the clock to make sure we’re ready for any scenario. We have increased our capacity at our state lab to allow more coronavirus testing of specimens. Right now we’re testing 100 specimens per day. At the end of the week, we will double it to 200 per day with the addition of new equipment and staffing.”

Photo: GPB-TV