GA Coronavirus: Kemp Urges Safety Measures Ahead Of Holidays
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ATLANTA, GA — As the state’s coronavirus numbers continue to rise, Gov. Brian Kemp on Tuesday urged Georgians to “remain vigilant” ahead of the coming holiday weekend.
“We want this to be a bump, not a spike,” Kemp said in a livestreamed update from the Georgia capitol building.
Kemp reiterated the “four things for fall” that can slow the spread of COVID-19: Wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and follow the guidance of public-health officials.
He also asked Georgians to gather virtually if possible, limit gatherings to a few people in the same household, gather outside if practical, and to consider the needs of those who are medically vulnerable.
"I know many are looking forward to spending time with their loved ones over the holidays," Kemp said. "I am, too. But I will tell you we have to remain vigilant."
One thing not to do is to, said public health commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey, is to assume that a COVID-19 test taken a few days before holiday travel will make you bulletproof.
“If you get tested today and you’re negative, it does not mean you won’t be positive in a day or two or three,” Toomey said. “It’s particularly important that we don’t use the COVID test as a justification to go and not follow the guidelines.”
Both Kemp and Toomey repeated their message to Georgians to also get a flu vaccination to avoid a “twindemic.”
Kemp Comments On Election Recount
After his prepared statement and before taking questions, Kemp gave what he called a “quick statement on elections so we can stay focused on COVID.”
Kemp repeated his support for President Donald Trump’s latest call for a recount “to ensure that every legal vote is counted.” At the same time, Kemp also decried unspecified “misinformation” and “baseless attacks” that he said were “absurd” and had led to accusations against him and his family.
“These are ridiculous,” Kemp said of the attacks. “They only seek to breed fear, create confusion and sow discord amongst our citizens.”
Trump’s campaign recently disavowed the actions of attorney Sidney Powell, who claimed that former U.S. Rep. Doug Collins had beaten Sen. Kelly Loeffler in the Nov. 3 general election.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, Loeffler got about 26 percent of the vote and Collins received about 20 percent, with the rest of the vote spread among about a dozen other candidates. Loeffler, who initially was endorsed by Kemp but not by Trump, will face Democrat Raphael Warnock in a January runoff.
When asked later by two reporters to elaborate on his elections statement, Kemp wished them both a “Happy Thanksgiving,” then ended the news conference
Georgia Coronavirus Numbers For Nov. 24, 2020
The Georgia Department of Public Health in Atlanta reported a total of 408,644 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 2:50 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 24. According to the health department’s website, that includes 2,452 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours. In addition, Georgia reported 1,384 new antigen-positive cases over the last 24 hours, which are considered to be probable cases of COVID-19.
Georgia has reported 8,648 deaths so far from COVID-19, with 12 more confirmed deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. Georgia also reported 573 probable deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic. These probable deaths include fatalities with indirect evidence of COVID-19.
Georgia reported 34,268 hospitalizations — 185 more than the day before — and 6,414 admissions so far to intensive-care units. The percentage of ICU beds in use statewide is about 80 percent of capacity, but not all of these beds are being used by COVID-19 patients. About 28 percent of total ventilators available in Georgia are currently in use.
No information is available from Georgia about how many patients have recovered.
Counties in or near metro Atlanta and other metropolitan areas continue to have the highest number of positives, with Fulton County still in the lead.
Fulton County: 36,285 cases — 312 new
Gwinnett County: 35,448 cases — 245 new
Cobb County: 25,569 cases — 132 new
DeKalb County: 25,218 cases — 120 new
Hall County: 12,021 cases — 80 new
Chatham County: 10,392 — 34 new
Clayton County: 9,551— 49 new
Richmond County: 9,233 — 33 new
Cherokee County: 8,837 — 76 new
Henry County: 7,349 — 27 new
Counties in or near metro Atlanta also continue to have the most deaths from COVID-19. Also, Clayton County, on Atlanta’s south side, moved to ninth place ahead of Hall County, on Atlanta’s north side.
Fulton County: 656 deaths
Cobb County: 488 deaths
Gwinnett County: 485 deaths — 1 new
DeKalb County: 429 deaths — 1 removed
Bibb County: 217 deaths
Chatham County: 200 deaths
Dougherty County: 198 deaths — 1 removed
Richmond County: 194 deaths
Clayton County: 193 deaths — 1 new
Hall County: 190 deaths — 1 removed
All Georgia statistics are available on the state's COVID-19 website.
Globally, more than 59.5 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 1.4 million people have died from it, Johns Hopkins University reported Tuesday.
In the United States, more than 12.5 million people have been infected and nearly 259,000 people have died from COVID-19 as of Tuesday. The U.S. has only about 4 percent of the world's population but more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country.
This article originally appeared on the East Cobb Patch
