The Trump administration says Georgia’s control of the COVID-19 pandemic seems to be slipping.
Federal officials say they can’t even get a clear picture of the situation in the state because of “significant” declines in diagnostic testing.
The latest report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, obtained by WABE, says 11% fewer viral tests were performed in the state in the week leading up to Nov. 1, “making it difficult to interpret the current state of its epidemic.”
“Georgia has seen stability in new cases and an increase in test positivity suggesting undertesting” the report reads.
The latest data from the Georgia Department of Public Health paint a bleaker picture.
WABE’s analysis of the figures show the rolling average of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases has increased more than 22% in the last two weeks.
In the same time, coronavirus-related hospitalizations have grown by just over 8%.
The state is falling behind in catching cases as the coronavirus pandemic is picking up speed in many parts of the U.S.
The country has recently surged past its summer peak in COVID-19 cases. Much of the spread is happening in colder climates where the weather is beginning to push people indoors.
The White House warns those trends are “spreading southward” as much of the Sunbelt has seen “significant deterioration … as mitigation efforts were decreased over the past 5 weeks.”
The task force says new hospital admissions in Georgia remain elevated, mostly driven by infections occurring at social gatherings and warns that small private get-togethers with family and friends are fueling “unrelenting and significant” community spread.
“People must remember that seemingly uninfected family members and friends may be infected but asymptomatic. Exposure to asymptomatic cases can easily lead to spread as people unmask in private gatherings,” the report reads.
The warnings come just a few weeks before Thanksgiving, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has warned could be a perfect storm for disease spread.
Gov. Brian Kemp renewed his pandemic executive order last Friday but continues to decline to lower the state’s ban on social gatherings to fewer than 50 people.
