North Central Health District

Additional Presumed Positive Cases of COVID-19 in Georgia

Posted March 9, 2020 by Michael Hokanson

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is awaiting confirmatory testing on four new presumptive positive tests for COVID-19 in Georgia residents

Testing was completed today at the Georgia Public Health Laboratory (GPHL) and the results have been submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for verification.

One individual is from Fulton County, another individual is from Cherokee County, and the other two individuals are from Cobb County, but they have no connection to each other. All of the individuals are hospitalized, and the sources of their infections are not known.

With the addition of these four presumptive positive cases of COVID-19, there are now six presumptive positives pending confirmatory testing by CDC, and five confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia.

The risk of COVID-19 to the general public remains low. The best prevention measures for any respiratory virus are:

• Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
• Stay home when you are sick.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

If you have recently traveled to areas where there are ongoing outbreaks of COVID-19 and develop fever with cough and shortness of breath within 14 days of your travel, or if you have had contact with someone who is suspected to have COVID-19, stay home and call your health care provider or local health department right away. Be sure to call before going to a doctor’s office, emergency room, or urgent care center and tell them about your recent travel and your symptoms.

For accurate and reliable information about COVID-19 log on to https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html. Previous news releases about COVID-19 in Georgia can be found on the DPH website at https://dph.georgia.gov/.