COVID-19

Coronavirus Updates: Cruise Passengers Arrive At Air Base In Cobb County For Quarantine

March 11th, 2020

The passengers arrived early Wednesday, Dobbins Air Reserve Base said in a statement. Base officials didn’t specify the number of patients now on base, but they’ve said previously they were planning for dozens.

John Bazemore / Associated Press

Some of the passengers from a cruise ship in California that carried people infected by the new coronavirus have arrived at an air base in Georgia to begin a two-week quarantine.

The passengers arrived early Wednesday at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Cobb County, base officials said in a statement emailed to The Associated Press. The statement didn’t specify the number; they’ve said previously they were planning for dozens.

The Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will have full responsibility for all aspects of the quarantine, and Dobbins’ personnel will have no contact with the passengers, the base’s statement said. The passengers taken to Dobbins were screened before arrival, and none have been showing symptoms, it said.

The Grand Princess docked at the Port of Oakland on Monday after spending days off the California coast while quarantine plans were made, and test kits dropped by military helicopters showed 21 people on board had COVID-19.

For most people, this coronavirus causes only mild or moderate symptoms, but for a few, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illnesses, including pneumonia.

More than 120,000 people have been infected worldwide, with more than 4,300 deaths, but the vast majority recover within weeks. The U.S. tally topped 1,000 cases Wednesday, with at least 30 deaths.

Georgia To Get$14.7 million From The CDC

Georgia will receive $14.7 million from the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to fund its coronavirus response.

The federal agency announced nearly $570 million in grants to state and local public health departments.

“These funds will allow public health leaders to implement critical steps necessary to contain and mitigate the spread of the virus in communities across the country,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the CDC, in a news release.

The money comes from the $8.3 trillion spending plan President Donald Trump signed last week to fund the U.S. response to the coronavirus.

Johns Hopkins University reports there are more than 1,000 cases of COVID-19 in the country with at least 30 deaths.

Kemp: Free Up Money From ‘Rainy Day Fund’

Gov. Brian Kemp wants Georgia lawmakers to free up $100 million to fund the state’s response to the coronavirus.

He wrote a letter Wednesday to the heads of the Georgia House and Senate asking them to pull the money from the state’s “rainy day fund.”

Kemp says COVID-19 poses a “serious” threat to Georgia’s health systems, its economy and its vulnerable citizens.

“Ensuring that Georgia has the resources at hand to enable us to respond quickly and thoroughly to prevent its spread within our borders is paramount to keeping our citizens safe, maintaining the stability of our health network, and mitigating impact to our economy,” he wrote.

The governor wants the money included in the budget for the current fiscal year. That spending plan has already passed out of the House and Senate, but at least one top state lawmaker seems open to additional changes.

A spokesman for House Speaker David Ralston says he “fully supports” the governor’s request.

Valdosta Joins Fulton County In Closing Schools Wednesday

Fulton County Schools, one of the nation’s largest school districts, closed all schools for a second straight day Wednesday after a teacher who worked at two middle schools was found to have the virus.

With about 93,000 students and more than 100 schools, Fulton County is the largest school district to close nationwide, according to data kept by Education Week.

In South Georgia, more than 8,000 students in Valdosta City Schools stayed home Wednesday as its buildings were cleaned after a student teacher at an elementary school had “indirect contact” with family members who may have been exposed to COVID-19, the district said in a statement.

The student teacher has an “extremely low risk of any significant exposure to the coronavirus,” but officials said they decided to close all schools for a day as a precaution.

John Lewis’ Birthday Party Postponed

Events being derailed to contain the spread of this coronavirus include an 80th birthday party for civil rights icon and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, which had been planned for a large music hall in downtown Atlanta on March 28.

The party was postponed to keep all attendees safe and healthy, Lewis’ representatives said in a statement Wednesday.

More Tests Ordered In Georgia

The Georgia Department of Public Health says it has ordered more tests for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The agency started processing the tests on its own last week, after relying on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to do so for nearly a month.

Patient Isolated For Treatment At State Park

One of the patients in Georgia diagnosed with COVID-19 is being isolated for treatment at Hard Labor Creek State Park.

Gov. Brian Kemp and coronavirus task force members announced Tuesday that the state park in Morgan County will soon hold seven emergency mobile units.

Task force officials say the isolated site at Hard Labor Creek is closed to the public and is being closely monitored by state law enforcement.

Will Savannah’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade Go On?

Chicago on Wednesday joined the ranks of cities around the world to scrap St. Patrick’s Day parades amid concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, calling off an event that attracts tens of thousands of revelers.

Some cities were still considering what to do about their St. Patrick’s Day parades.

The City Council in Savannah, Georgia, planned to discuss the city’s 196-year-old parade at a meeting Thursday. Savannah and surrounding Chatham County so far have no confirmed COVID-19 cases.