What To Know About The Spread Of Coronavirus In Georgia (Maps)
People enjoy the warm weather on the Beltline in Atlanta’s Inman Park neighborhood Friday, May 1, 2020. Georgia’s coronavirus shelter-in-place order expired Thursday and was not renewed for most Georgians by Gov. Brian Kemp.
John Bazemore / Associated Press
In just a few months, the coronavirus has spread around the world.
From the time when the first case was announced in December in Wuhan, China, to now, governments and public health officials have been working to track and treat the virus.
Below are charts and maps tracking the spread of COVID-19, as well as testing efforts. See how Georgia stacks up against the virus as shelter-in-place restrictions ease.
Georgia has expanded testing throughout the state in the form of mass-rapid testing and drive-thru measures.
A “robust testing program” is among the criteria set by the White House for states to achieve before a “phased comeback.”
Kemp touted more than 20,000 new tests reported Thursday — the most Georgia had seen in a single day — and nearly 13,000 new tests Tuesday. But those figures don’t reflect sustained daily testing, which still fluctuates greatly. During the same week, Georgia reported fewer than 4,000 new tests on April 27 and Wednesday.
One expert, Dr. Harry J. Heiman, a professor of public health at Georgia State University, told the Associated Press that regularly hitting 13,000 tests a day would be “a great place to be.”
More information about the number of tests and how many are conducted by commercial or a Georgia public health lab can be found on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s status report webpage.
On Jan. 21, the first Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed coronavirus case was reported and involved someone living in Washington who had recently come back from Wuhan.
Then Georgia’s first two cases were reported on March 3, according to a press release from Gov. Brian Kemp’s office. The cases involved two Fulton County residents who traveled from Italy.
Since then, the number has increased to more than 29,000, as of May 4. Georgia is among the 12 states with more than 25,000 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S., according to data compiled by the CDC on May 3.
Created by Lauren Booker
Rural counties in Georgia have been most hit by the virus per capita. See the impact of coronavirus by looking across the state.
Health officials have said that it is crucial for countries to “flatten the curve” by staggering the number of coronavirus cases in an effort to not have a surge of cases at once and risk overwhelming the healthcare system. Shelter-in-place and social distancing requirements were put in place to try to achieve that.
Within the United States, there are curves pertaining to local areas, such as states and cities. Georgia hasn’t yet seen a 14-day decline in cases, which means that the state hasn’t gone over its peak.
One of the criteria in the White House’s “Opening Up America Again” guidelines is for states to have a 14-day downward trajectory of and “COVID-like syndromic cases” before beginning a phased return.
Georgia’s stay-at-home order that began on April 3 ended on May 1. Kemp and public officials are urging Georgians to wear face coverings as a way to help limit exposure to COVID-19. Social distancing requirements must also be followed for any business that resumes operation.
Malls have begun to reopen, while Kemp did extend a shelter in place order for the medically fragile and elderly to June 12. Currently, bars and nightclubs are closed until May 14, but that could be extended.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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