ATLANTA — Here is the latest coronavirus blog for April 23.
Below is an archive
==
The Georgia Department of Health announced new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. As of 7 p.m., there are 21,102 confirmed cases of the virus and 846 deaths reported. Scroll to read more.
Visit the 11Alive coronavirus page for comprehensive coverage, find out what you need to know about Georgia specifically, learn more about the symptoms, and keep tabs on the cases around the world here. Have a question? Text it to us at 404-885-7600.
State and federal officials with the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are continually monitoring the spread of the virus. They are also working hand-in-hand with the World Health Organization to track the spread around the world and to stop it.
We will continue to track the most important coronavirus elements relating to Georgia on this page. Refresh often for new information.
Key Facts:
- 846 deaths from the novel coronavirus in Georgia
- 21,102 confirmed cases across the state
- Statewide shelter-in-place order will expire on April 30
- All public schools in Georgia closed through the end of the school year
- Public Health Emergency remains in effect until May 13
Tours of the Governor's mansion will not resume after shelter-in-place order
The office of Gov. Brian Kemp said tours at the mansion will not resume once the shelter-in-place order is lifted.
“Tours at the Governor’s Mansion are postponed. We appreciate everyone’s understanding,” they said when reached out by 11Alive.
We were told that it would be June before the tours take place again.
LA Fitness won't reopen until May 1
Despite the governor giving gyms the green light to open on Friday, LA Fitness said they will not open in Georgia until May 1. When they do, it'll come with restrictions.
They said they will initially limit building occupancy to one person for every 200 square feet and move equipment to create safe social distancing. They also said they will will staff scheduled during all hours of operation to disinfect frequently used areas.
Dept. of Health releases latest numbers
The Georgia Department of Health announced new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. As of Noon, there are 21,102 confirmed cases of the virus and 846 deaths reported. This is up from the 20,740 confirmed cases and 836 deaths that they announced on Monday evening.
Of the 21,102 confirmed cases, 2255 are in Fulton, 1609 are in DeKalb, 1479 are in Dougherty, 1272 are in Cobb and 1273 are in Gwinnett. For a breakdown by county, view the 11Alive interactive map.
They said 4018 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19.
COUNTY - CASES - DEATHS
Fulton 2255 85
Dekalb 1609 31
Dougherty 1479 106
Gwinnett 1273 46
Cobb 1272 63
Hall 907 9
Clayton 549 21
Henry 386 10
Sumter 341 20
Cherokee 340 10
Richmond 313 13
Carroll 304 11
Lee 294 17
Mitchell 280 23
Bartow 259 27
Douglas 259 8
Muscogee 244 4
Forsyth 227 8
Bibb 224 4
Chatham 193 7
Houston 190 13
Upson 185 12
Early 184 12
Coweta 168 4
Terrell 159 18
Colquitt 158 6
Baldwin 155 4
Randolph 148 17
Thomas 148 14
Fayette 146 8
Newton 146 5
Paulding 145 7
Rockdale 144 6
Worth 142 9
Spalding 136 8
Crisp 130 2
Habersham 130 3
Floyd 128 8
Butts 125 1
Columbia 124 2
Lowndes 122 4
Clarke 118 13
Troup 109 4
Barrow 103 3
Ware 95 7
Tift 93 3
Coffee 84 4
Calhoun 76 3
Dooly 74 6
Walton 73 3
Gordon 70 8
Jackson 63 1
Macon 59 2
Turner 59 5
Walker 59 0
Burke 53 3
Oconee 53 0
Whitfield 53 4
Glynn 51 0
Pierce 51 2
Wilcox 51 6
Decatur 50 1
Greene 50 1
Dawson 49 1
Harris 49 2
Meriwether 48 0
Appling 47 2
Catoosa 45 0
Laurens 44 1
Stephens 42 1
Grady 40 2
Bryan 37 2
Johnson 37 1
Mcduffie 37 4
Brooks 36 6
Polk 36 0
Peach 35 2
Pike 35 2
Liberty 34 0
Oglethorpe 34 3
Bulloch 33 2
Marion 33 1
White 33 0
Effingham 30 1
Lamar 28 0
Washington 28 1
Camden 27 0
Putnam 27 2
Seminole 27 2
Lumpkin 26 0
Haralson 25 1
Miller 24 0
Morgan 23 0
Jones 22 0
Wilkinson 22 2
Dodge 21 0
Talbot 21 1
Toombs 21 3
Wilkes 21 0
Bacon 20 1
Ben Hill 20 0
Brantley 20 2
Clay 20 2
Fannin 20 0
Gilmer 20 0
Murray 19 0
Towns 19 0
Baker 18 2
Jasper 18 0
Madison 18 1
Pickens 18 2
Stewart 18 0
Union 18 1
Pulaski 17 1
Telfair 17 0
Banks 16 0
Schley 16 1
Cook 15 1
Dade 15 1
Emanuel 15 0
Irwin 15 1
Monroe 15 1
Crawford 14 0
Jenkins 14 1
Screven 14 1
Franklin 13 0
Taylor 13 2
Chattooga 11 1
Hancock 11 0
Jefferson 11 1
Berrien 10 0
Elbert 10 0
Lincoln 10 0
Warren 10 0
Wayne 10 0
Rabun 9 0
Chattahoochee 8 0
Heard 8 1
Candler 7 0
Charlton 7 0
Clinch 7 0
Jeff Davis 7 1
Lanier 7 1
Webster 7 0
Hart 6 0
Tattnall 6 0
Twiggs 6 0
Atkinson 5 0
Bleckley 5 0
Echols 5 0
Evans 4 0
Mcintosh 4 0
Quitman 3 1
Wheeler 3 0
Long 2 0
Montgomery 2 0
Treutlen 2 0
Unknown 576 0
Non-Georgia Resident 1003 9
Cobb County opening some parks, trails
Cobb County will reopen trails and passive parks in the county on Saturday, government officials announced.
Passive parks are those without amenities like playgrounds, ballparks, soccer fields, or tennis centers. The passive parks allow for more social distancing under public health guidelines.
Based on public health guidance, those who use these facilities and trails will be required to adhere to social distancing guidelines and wear masks, they said.
FULL LIST: Cobb County to reopen some parks, trails
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra canceling rest of season
The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra says all remaining performances of its classical subscription season have been canceled.
Those performances were set to run through June 14.
The orchestra had previously canceled its concerts through May 11. It says that, to date, it has lost more than $3 million in ticket revenue.
Confirmed cases at 20,740 with 836 deaths
The Georgia Department of Health announced new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. As of Noon, there are 20,740 confirmed cases of the virus and 836 deaths reported. This is up from the 20,166 confirmed cases and 818 deaths that they announced on Tuesday evening.
Of the 20,740 confirmed cases, 2222 are in Fulton, 1587 are in DeKalb, 1468 are in Dougherty, 1259 are in Cobb and 1263 are in Gwinnett. In all, there are cases reported in 157 counties (667 cases are listed as unknown counties). There are 1002 cases listed as "non-Georgia residents." For a breakdown by county, view the 11Alive interactive map.
They said 3959 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19.
Of the confirmed cases, 1 percent are between the ages of 0-17, while 62 percent are 18-59 years old, 34 percent are over 60 and 3 percent are unknown. 54 percent are female, and 44 percent are male.
In total, 88058 tests were conducted at commercial labs, reporting 19628 positive cases. At the Department of Public Health Laboratory, 6014 tests were conducted with 1112 positive results.
COUNTY - CASES - DEATHS
Fulton 2222 84
Dekalb 1587 30
Dougherty 1468 107
Gwinnett 1263 46
Cobb 1259 61
Hall 778 9
Clayton 548 21
Henry 388 10
Sumter 341 20
Cherokee 331 10
Carroll 311 11
Richmond 309 13
Lee 292 17
Mitchell 278 23
Bartow 258 27
Douglas 253 8
Muscogee 237 4
Forsyth 223 8
Bibb 217 4
Chatham 193 6
Houston 188 13
Upson 186 12
Early 176 12
Coweta 168 4
Terrell 159 18
Colquitt 157 6
Randolph 147 17
Fayette 145 8
Newton 144 4
Paulding 144 7
Thomas 144 14
Rockdale 143 6
Baldwin 142 4
Worth 141 9
Spalding 139 8
Crisp 128 2
Floyd 127 8
Columbia 123 2
Habersham 119 2
Clarke 116 13
Lowndes 116 3
Troup 107 4
Barrow 101 3
Ware 95 7
Tift 91 3
Coffee 84 4
Butts 83 1
Calhoun 75 2
Dooly 73 6
Gordon 68 8
Walton 64 3
Jackson 63 1
Turner 59 5
Macon 57 2
Oconee 53 0
Burke 51 3
Pierce 51 2
Decatur 50 1
Glynn 49 0
Greene 49 1
Dawson 48 1
Harris 48 2
Meriwether 47 0
Whitfield 47 4
Appling 46 2
Wilcox 46 6
Laurens 43 1
Stephens 41 1
Bryan 38 2
Grady 38 2
Johnson 37 1
Mcduffie 37 4
Oglethorpe 37 3
Polk 36 0
Walker 36 0
Brooks 35 6
Peach 35 2
Pike 35 2
Liberty 34 0
Marion 33 1
Bulloch 32 2
White 32 0
Effingham 30 1
Catoosa 29 0
Lamar 28 0
Washington 28 1
Camden 27 0
Putnam 27 2
Lumpkin 26 0
Seminole 26 2
Haralson 25 1
Miller 23 0
Morgan 23 0
Jones 22 0
Talbot 22 1
Wilkinson 22 2
Dodge 21 0
Toombs 21 3
Wilkes 21 0
Bacon 20 1
Baker 20 2
Brantley 20 2
Clay 20 2
Ben Hill 19 0
Gilmer 19 0
Murray 19 0
Fannin 18 0
Jasper 18 0
Madison 18 1
Pickens 18 2
Telfair 18 0
Pulaski 17 1
Stewart 17 0
Banks 16 0
Schley 16 1
Emanuel 15 0
Irwin 15 0
Monroe 15 1
Towns 15 0
Union 15 1
Crawford 14 0
Jenkins 14 1
Screven 14 1
Cook 13 1
Dade 13 1
Franklin 13 0
Taylor 13 2
Jefferson 11 1
Berrien 10 0
Chattooga 10 1
Elbert 10 0
Hancock 10 0
Lincoln 10 0
Warren 10 0
Wayne 10 0
Heard 8 1
Rabun 8 0
Candler 7 0
Charlton 7 0
Chattahoochee 7 0
Clinch 7 0
Jeff Davis 7 1
Lanier 7 1
Webster 7 0
Hart 6 0
Atkinson 5 0
Bleckley 5 0
Echols 5 0
Tattnall 5 0
Evans 4 0
Mcintosh 4 0
Twiggs 4 0
Quitman 3 1
Wheeler 3 0
Long 2 0
Montgomery 2 0
Treutlen 2 0
Unknown 667 0
Non-Georgia Resident 1002 8
Kemp, Loeffler to hold town hall
Gov. Brian Kemp and Sen. Kelly Loeffler announced they will be holding a town hall this afternoon from 3:50 p.m.-4:50 p.m. Representatives for the senator said members of the public will be permitted to ask questions, though specific information for the conference call is not yet available.
The Gathering Spot to stay closed
Ryan Wilson, the CEO and co-founder of the popular Atlanta private social club The Gathering Spot, says the club will remain closed despite the governor's order that such clubs will be allowed to reopen starting next Monday.
Calling the decision to reopen a "complete failure of leadership," Wilson said in a statement: "We’re not opening despite the order. We could technically open on April 27, but we’re not going to because it’s not safe to do so. The worst thing that could happen is we open our space up and someone gets sick or dies as a result of coming into contact with someone here. We just simply are not at the point where the data suggests that it’s a responsible move to make."
Piedmont Healthcare says current capacity manageable
Piedmont Healthcare says its system-wide patient load of those with COVID-19 has "declined slightly" recently and that "current capacity is manageable."
It provided this statement on current operations:
"Piedmont Healthcare continues to closely monitor the available capacity across our system. For the past few weeks, our number of confirmed positive cases of patients with COVID-19 has remained steady and has, more recently, declined slightly. Thus, our current capacity is manageable, thanks in part to the impact of social distancing and other precautionary measures as well as because of the expansion of two of our largest hospitals, which were made possible by generous gifts from philanthropic donors. While our caseload is not currently putting undue strain on our operations, we remain very watchful for any changes that could indicate a resurge."
Things to know this morning
- Reaction to Kemp's decision to begin restarting economic activity has been sharp, with everyone from President Trump to local health officials weighing in.
- Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has also been vocal in her opposition to reopening this soon - she spoke to 11Alive's Cheryl Preheim about her stance
- The owner of a popular Atlanta salon told us she's not ready to reopen yet
- And an ER doctor told us it was a "slap in the face" to begin reopening
- 11Alive's Jason Braverman has been documenting what empty Atlanta looks like during the pandemic. Here's what he's seen
MORE CORONAVIRUS HEADLINES