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Georgia says 97 percent of nursing home residents have now been tested

The governor said that across all long-term care facilities, 74% of residents and 54% of staff members have been tested for COVID-19.

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp's office says 97% of nursing home residents at facilities with 25 beds or more have now been tested for COVID-19, as the state works to test through its population living in long-term care facilities.

The governor said that across all long-term care facilities, 74% of residents and 54% of staff members have now been tested for the coronavirus.

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The Georgia Department of Community Health puts out a regular report on long-term care facility COVID-19 data. That report indicates there is only one nursing home in Georgia, Spring Harbor at Green Island in Columbus, that has fewer than 25 beds. It's not clear how that facility's data would impact the overall numbers.

"Nursing homes and all long-term care facilities remain critically important battlegrounds in our fight against COVID-19," Gov. Brian Kemp said in a release. "Thanks to the hard work of state officials from the Department of Public Health, Department of Community Health, Georgia National Guard, and Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency, we are making significant progress in staff and resident testing while also supplying facilities with the resources and PPE that they need."

According to the state, 3,269 residents have recovered out of 6,259 that have tested positive.

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