ATLANTA – Georgia Tech opened a drive-thru rapid COVID-19 testing site Monday on its Midtown Atlanta campus.
The test site, a partnership between the state Department of Public Health and CVS Health, is operating at a parking deck at 352 Peachtree Place. At full capacity, the site will be able to conduct up to 1,000 tests per day.
The tests, offered by Abbott Laboratories will take about 30 minutes.
“Increased access to rapid testing remains one of our top priorities in order to identify more cases, get Georgians the care they need and prevent further infection in our communities,” Gov. Brian Kemp said. “This unique, public-private partnership will strengthen our testing capability as we continue to take the fight to COVID-19 in Georgia, and we are grateful for CVS Health’s support to stop the spread of the virus.”
As of noon Monday, 7,314 Georgians had tested positive for coronavirus, while 229 had died from the virus.
Health care providers, including nurse practitioners and physician assistants from MinuteClinic, the company’s retail medical clinic, will be onsite to oversee testing. Patients will need to pre-register in advance for a same-day appointment online at www.CVS.com/minuteclinic/covid-19-testing.
For the safety of patients and health care providers on site, no walk-ups will be allowed. Testing is limited to drive-through testing only.
“CVS Health is uniquely positioned to play a vital role in helping support both local communities and the overall health care system in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Dr. Troyen Brennan, vice president and chief medical officer of CVS Health. “Our ability to help coordinate the availability of rapid COVID-19 testing for Georgia citizens will bolster the state’s efforts to manage the spread of the virus and provide people with on-the-spot test results.”
The tests will be free of charge. Hours of operation will be Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 6 p.m., Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.
ATLANTA – Coronavirus now has killed more than 200 Georgians, the state Department of Public Health reported Saturday,
As of 11:30 a.m., 201 COVID-19 patients had died from the virus in Georgia. The number of confirmed cases was up to 6,160. Of that number, 1,239 – or 20.1% – were hospitalized.
The 201 deaths are nearly twice the number reported just four days ago, even as the state has ramped up testing and deployed the Georgia National Guard to Albany, the hardest-hit community in the state.
Dougherty County, where efforts to cope with the rapid spread of COVID-19 have drawn national media coverage, deaths from coronavirus have surpassed deaths in much more populous Fulton County. Thirty patients had died in the Albany area as of 11:30 a.m., compared to 26 deaths in Fulton.
Cobb County has suffered 20 deaths from the virus, followed by Clayton County with nine and Athens-Clarke, DeKalb, Gwinnett and Lee counties with eight each.
Testing has picked up in recent days, with 23,846 Georgians tested for COVID-19 as of Saturday and 2,448 tested by the state.
As been the case throughout the course of the pandemic thus far, the most Georgians testing positive for the virus – 59% – are between the ages of 18 to 59. Older Georgians age 60 and above account for 36% of positive tests.
Women outnumber men among those testing positive for coronavirus, 52% to 46%.
A statewide shelter-in-place order imposed by Gov. Brian Kemp took effect early Friday evening. Georgians are supposed to stay at home whenever possible, unless they need to go to the grocery store or pharmacy, or for medical treatment.
There’s also a broad range of exceptions for people who work in industries considered essential and can’t perform their duties from home. Another exception allows for outdoor exercise, as long as people keep at least six feet of distance between each other.
A hospital staff member tests for coronavirus at a drive-up test site at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany. (Photo courtesy of Phoebe Putney)
Testing for coronavirus is poised for a big boost in some Georgia hospitals that have begun shifting to in-house rapid tests able to dramatically reduce the turnaround time for results.
Staff at Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in Albany, which has been hit hard by the virus, brought a new diagnostic test online Thursday night that returns results “in a matter of hours,” said Dr. Steve Kitchen, the hospital’s chief medical officer.
Previously, test results for Phoebe Putney patients typically took four days to turn around once they were sent to a commercial lab, Quest Diagnostics. The quicker return time should help hospital staff track down patients not showing any symptoms, send people home faster who test negative and save supplies of crucial protective gear, Kitchen said.
“We’re going to test every patient who gets admitted to our hospital, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not,” Kitchen said Friday.
Emory University Hospital also recently launched three new in-house testing platforms that can secure results in 24 hours, said Dr. Colleen Kraft, the hospital’s associate chief medical officer. Before then, results from commercial labs took seven to 10 days.
The in-house testing has “dramatically changed” the hospital’s workflow as staff gear up for an anticipated “super surge” of patients later this month, Kraft said in a video briefing with reporters Friday.
Diagnostic testing for COVID-19 has lagged across the country, including in Georgia. As of noon Friday, 25,265 tests had been completed in the state, mostly by commercial labs. By that time, 5,831 people had tested positive and 184 had died.
Statewide, testing is poised to swell as several university research labs and the state public health lab embark on an effort to process more than 3,000 samples per day, Gov. Brian Kemp announced earlier this week.
At Phoebe Putney, hospital staff had been limited until Thursday night to collecting nasal swab samples and sending them to New York-based Quest Diagnostics for testing. Now, the South Georgia hospital has equipment and software in its lab that returns results within a few hours, using a process that checks whether a patient’s swab sample matches COVID-19’s genetic makeup, Kitchen said.
Hospital staff can now send someone home if they test positive more quickly, eliminating the need to use up precious treatment space and employee time, Kitchen said. Positive patients can now also be quickly isolated rather than left in areas where there may be other people who have not yet contracted the virus but are awaiting test results.
“They would have exposed patients and nurses unknowingly,” Kitchen said. “I think this is a very effective strategy from a hospital standpoint to reduce the transmission.”
Kitchen said the speedy test is airtight, with a near-perfect accuracy rating for positive cases and a less than 10% chance results will produce any false negatives. It was purchased from Cepheid, a California company, which late last month received U.S. Food and Drug Administration emergency approval to market its rapid testing method.
Meanwhile, health experts like Kitchen and Kraft contend the most effective way to curb the spread of coronavirus is for people to isolate themselves from each other, not the increase in testing.
For her part, Kraft said Friday she considers the public attention paid to diagnostics testing in recent weeks a “contrived concern” when compared to the need for mass social distancing practices. Even with slow turnaround times, Kraft said test results for the brand new virus are still coming in very fast.
“We are doing the best we can with diagnostic testing in general,” Kraft said.
On Friday afternoon, Phoebe Putney’s hospital campuses were treating 78 people infected with coronavirus. Hundreds of people have poured into the hospital in recent weeks, and 36 have died from the virus. More than 1,300 test results were still pending.
The influx of patients has stretched the hospital’s staff to the max, Kitchen said. But they have risen to the occasion.
“I’ll be honest, I can’t say enough about how they’ve responded to an extraordinarily difficult challenge of meeting the needs of these patients,” Kitchen said.
“And knowing that they’re putting themselves at some increased risk,” he added. “It is really inspiring to watch how they’re responding.”
Gov. Brian Kemp gives an update on coronavirus last month. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a statewide shelter-in-place order to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Here are some frequently asked questions surrounding the order and answers supplied by the governor’s office:
How long does the executive order last?
The shelter-in-place order takes effect at 6 p.m. Friday and expires at 11:59 p.m. April 13
What businesses and professionals must cease in-person operations and close to the public during this time?
Bars
Nightclubs
Gyms
Fitness centers
Bowling alleys
Theaters
Live performance venues
Dine-in services at restaurants and private social clubs (Exceptions include take-out, curbside pickup and delivery, as well as dine-in services at hospitals, health-care facilities, nursing homes or other long-term care facilities)
How does the order apply to individuals and families?
All Georgia residents and visitors are required to shelter in place in their residences. “Shelter in place” means remaining in their residences and taking every possible precaution to limit social interaction to prevent the spread or infection of COVID-19.
Are there exceptions?
Yes. A Georgia resident or visitor is not required to shelter in place if they are:
Engaging in essential services.
Working in critical infrastructure.
Engaging in minimum basic operations.
Performing necessary travel.
What are essential services and critical infrastructure workers?
As defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, workers who conduct a range of operations and services that are typically essential to critical infrastructure viability, including staffing operations centers, maintaining and repairing critical infrastructure, operating call centers, working construction, and performing operating functions, among others. It also includes workers who support critical supply chains and enable functions for critical infrastructure. The industries they support represent but are not limited to medical and health care, telecommunications, information technology systems, defense, food and agriculture, transportation and logistics, energy, water and wastewater, law enforcement and public works.
Engaging in essential services means obtaining necessary supplies and services for your household, engaging in activities essential for the health and safety of your household, and engaging in outdoor exercise activities as long as you have at least six feet between people who do not live in your household.
You can go to the grocery store, medical appointments and the pharmacy. You can go pick up food or have food delivered to your house. You can leave your house to buy supplies to clean or maintain your house. You can go outside to exercise. You can also leave your house in an emergency.
The key takeaway is that you need to stay in your house as much as possible, but we recognize there are circumstances when you need to leave. Keep those circumstances rare, consolidate trips as much as possible and use take-out, curbside pickup and delivery service whenever possible to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Necessary travel means the travel required for someone to conduct or participate in essential services, minimum basic operations or work for critical infrastructure.
Minimum basic operations are limited to:
The minimum activities necessary to maintain the value of a business … provide services, manage inventory, ensure security, process payroll and employee benefits, or for related functions. Such minimum necessary activities include remaining open to the public subject to the restrictions of this order.
The minimum activities necessary to facilitate employees or volunteers being able to work remotely from their residences.
Instances where employees are working outdoors without regular contact with other persons, such as delivery services, contractors, landscape businesses and agricultural industry services.
What does this order mean for church services and funeral services?
No business, establishment, for-profit or nonprofit corporation, organization or county or municipal government is allowed to have more than 10 people gathering in a single location unless there is at least six feet between each person at all times. This rule applies to church services and funeral services.
Can I go to state parks or play sports outside like golf?
Yes. You can visit state parks or play sports outside, including golf, subject to restrictions. Gatherings of more than 10 people are banned unless there is at least six feet between each person at all times. If people congregate in certain areas of a state park or golf course, for example, law enforcement will warn them to disband. If they fail to comply, they may face criminal charges.
What happens if I violate the governor’s executive order?
If you violate any terms of the order, you are committing a misdemeanor, which is a crime in the state of Georgia. For example, if you are not sheltering in place and none of the four exceptions for essential services, minimum basic operations, critical infrastructure or necessary travel applies to your activities, you will receive a warning from law enforcement and risk facing criminal charges if you fail to comply.
How does this order apply to local governments?
No county or municipal to government is allowed to have more than 10 people gathered in a single location unless there is at least six feet between each person at all times. The governor’s order supersedes all local ordinances to the extent they conflict and states that no ordinance can be more restrictive or less restrictive.
Dr. Colleen Kraft shows a face mask during a video briefing on coronavirus at Emory University Hospital on April 3, 2020. (Image from Emory video)
ATLANTA – Denial, fear, anxiety and worry have been the constant companions of Dr. Colleen Kraft and her colleagues at Emory University Hospital in recent weeks.
Coronavirus has pummeled the physical resources and mental toughness of hospital staff, and the patient “super surge,” as Kraft describes it, has not even arrived yet.
“We have all collectively and individually gone through that grief cycle,” said Kraft, an associate chief medical officer at the hospital who gave a video briefing for reporters Friday.
As of noon Friday, more than 5,800 people in Georgia had tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel strain of coronavirus that has sparked a global pandemic. It has killed 184 Georgians.
Hospitals are grinding across the state under the reality of dwindling amounts of protective gear and bed space for critically sick patients. State health officials say the peak period for hospital capacity is likely still three weeks away, on April 23.
At Emory, hospital workers who have been battling the highly infectious virus for two months now are “definitely gearing up” for an even tougher fight ahead, said Kraft.
In-house lab work is now turning around diagnostic test results in 24 hours. Local universities are making 3-D face shields to help reuse protective masks. The hospital has purchased 50 new ventilators. And Emory staff are figuring out flow plans for moving patients to free up the most space possible in anticipation of the coming surge.
Still, the thought of what the rest of this month could bring is daunting.
“It’s been a difficult time of preparation to think about how we haven’t hit the peak yet,” Kraft said.
But Kraft, who was part the university hospital’s Ebola treatment team in 2014, said the statewide shelter-in-place order set to start Friday at 6 p.m. should lessen the stress for hospitals like Emory if it helps slow transmission rates of the virus.
Gov. Brian Kemp ordered the loose statewide shutdown a month after the first people in the state, a father and son from Fulton County, tested positive for the virus.
Restaurants, bars and other common social spots will shutter through April 13, per the order, while grocery stores and other businesses can largely remain open so long as patrons and workers can keep at least six feet apart from each other.
“As we take the fight to COVID-19, I’m asking Georgians to hunker down, follow the directives we’ve issued and help us flatten the curve,” Kemp said Thursday.
Through the struggle, Kraft has also witnessed daily acts of strength and courage at Emory. Teamwork, she says, has kept up their spirits as staff clean their face masks with ultraviolet radiation and it remains a toss-up for how many new masks, gowns and gloves there will be whenever the latest supply shipment comes.
“What I’ve seen personally is on the days that I’m not feeling best, there’s someone there to lift me up,” Kraft said. “I think we’re focusing on trying to be a team and breaking down as many silos as possible.”
