Every day at noon and 7 p.m., the Georgia Department of Public Health releases updated numbers tracking the progression of COVID-19 across the state. As public health officials refine the recording of those numbers, they say Georgians may be confused about what appears to be a sudden increase in cases in one or more counties
For example, the noon report on Tuesday, March 31 showed Hall County had 65 confirmed cases of coronavirus; on the previous report at 7 p.m. Monday, March 30, the county had 34 confirmed cases.
Dave Palmer, spokesman for the District 2 Public Health Department, said there are a couple of factors for the increase, not just in Hall County, but in other counties, as well.
For one thing, more testing is being done because more test kits are available.
"As more people are tested, we expect the number of people who test positive to increase," Palmer said in an email statement. "What we do not know, is how much of an increase in cases we will see."
In addition, some of the cases that have been listed as 'unknown' on the daily report have been resolved, so officials know which counties should be assigned the patients who test positive for the illness.
As the reporting has become more refined, the Department of Public Health has been able to add information about where COVID-19 deaths have occurred, as well as basic information about the victims - their ages, whether they are male or female and whether there were underlying medical issues that possibly contributed to their deaths. Of course, names of the victims are not made public because of HIPAA laws.
To find resources on COVID-19, including the Georgia Department of Health's latest report, click here.
