Officials To Use State Park To Isolate COVID-19 Patients In Georgia

Officials are making plans to isolate and monitor COVID-19 patients in Morgan County.

Hard Labor Creek State Park is one of ten recreational parks built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in Georgia. An isolated section of the park — where emergency trailers and operations will be separated from the rest of the property — will be used for patients, Gov. Brian Kemp said Monday in a release.

Quarantine is used in reference to people who appear to be healthy but who may have been exposed to someone who is known to have COVID-19, whereas isolaton is the term used for people who have potential coronavirus symptoms and have decided or been told to stay home and away from the public.

No patients are currently scheduled to be transferred to this location, the governor's office said.

Officials have already delivered and installed seven emergency trailers at the park, and related materials are en route for future use. Once established, the Department of Public Safety will provide security for this location.

Georgia currently has confirmed cases of COVID-19 in several metro Atlanta counties.

A 14-day quarantine, whether voluntary or legally mandated, is based on the World Health Organization’s estimate of the period needed to determine that a person is or is not infected with coronavirus.

“'Incubation period' means the time between catching the virus and beginning to have symptoms of the disease, according to WHO. "Most estimates of the incubation period for COVID-19 range from 1-14 days, most commonly around five days. These estimates will be updated as more data become available.”

The CDC’s quarantine powers are limited to U.S. entry points at airports, seaports and land-border crossings.