Health

Due to a surge in COVID positive cases Bulloch County testing sites are reporting a shortage in COVID-19 Rapid Test Kits. This shortage comes as we experience an increase in positives that are part of the holiday surge experts predicted.

Evans County reports a percent positive of 30.7%. Yesterday, Evans reported a percent positive of 22.5%; the target for this measurement is less than 5%.

Beginning today we will be reporting daily positives which will include PCR and rapid antigen test. However the positivity rate and cases per 100k will still be calculated using on PCR data.

Candler County reports one probable COVID-19 death today bringing the total (probable and confirmed) to 37. Candler County also reports a 14 day average of 221 cases per 100,000 citizens and a seven day percent positive of 16.9%.

On the last day of 2020, Augusta University Medical Center was swamped with very sick COVID patients. Sixteen were waiting Thursday in the ER to be moved to ICU beds, but no such beds were available.

EGRMC and hospitals across Region J, which stretches from Augusta to Brunswick, and hospitals across Georgia are seeing record numbers of admissions and are experiencing capacity issues.

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine have been arriving at medical facilities across Georgia over the past two weeks.

The reactivation of the field hospital in the Georgia World Congress Center this week is a sign of how health facilities are struggling as the state’s number of COVID-19 patients continues to soar.

Georgia now has more than 4,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19, with hospital admissions increasing at a pace that raises questions about hospitals' ability to handle demand.

EGRMC received their first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines today. They are vaccinating healthcare personnel who provide direct care to the most vulnerable populations.