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Georgia Coronavirus Updates: Unemployment Claims Soar
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The Georgia Department of Labor says it processed more unemployment claims last week than it did during all of 2019, as hundreds of thousands of Georgians look for economic relief from the coronavirus.
As of 7 p.m. Friday, April 10, there are more than 11,850 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with 425 reported deaths in all but four of Georgia’s 159 counties. More than 46,000 tests have been performed by state and commercial labs. The state also says 2,454 people have been hospitalized so far.
Here is the latest coronavirus news from Georgia for Friday, April 10, 2020.
Kemp urges Georgians to stay home for Easter
In a press release Friday afternoon, Kemp begged Georgians to celebrate this weekend's religious observances from home or online.
"I greatly appreciate faith leaders across our state who have made the tough decision to stop the spread of COVID-19 by suspending in-person religious services. Their leadership is literally saving lives," Kemp said. "To all Georgians celebrating Easter this Sunday, I am pleading with you to not attend any services in person. If you attend worship services in person, you risk exposure to coronavirus - potentially endangering your life, the lives of your neighbors, and your loved ones. I know this decision is difficult, but we will get through this together.”
This comes as there have been reports of churches violating the state's stay-at-home order requiring social distancing for in-person gatherings, and also reports of people not staying in their cars during drive-thru church services.
Unemployment claims soar
Nearly 400,000 unemployment claims were processed from March 29 to April 4 as the economic slowdown seen elsewhere in the U.S. begins to hit Georgia hard.
That number is up from the previous week, which saw 133,820 claims processed, which was itself a record.
“Our claims numbers have tripled what they were a week before,” Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler said in a statement. “Thanks to the governor and his support of this agency, we have been able to automate much of this process by requiring employers to file on behalf of their employees, making this process much easier for Georgians to receive benefits.”
Here’s another statistic: during the worst year of the Great Recession, the DOL processed about a million claims in the entire year. In the last two weeks, more than half a million have been processed.
According to the release, a majority of the claims from last week were those in the accommodation and food service industry.
Nationwide, more than 17 million Americans have filed for unemployment in the last three weeks.
In a video message, Butler said Thursday evening that Georgians who have filed should be patient and it could take up to 21 days to process a claim as his staff is working around the clock to handle the avalanche of claims.”
“Understand that our employees are working long hours 12 to 14 hours a day,” he said. “A lot of times they are showing up to work with 250 voicemails and 1,000 emails in their inbox, and they're trying to get to you, as quickly as possible.”
As early as next week, jobless benefits should include a $600-a-week supplement to Georgia’s cap of $365 per week, passed as part of the massive federal government stimulus plan to help float the economy amidst the coronavirus.
Georgia doesn’t fully know the racial data of who is impacted by the coronavirus
While we largely know the gender, age, county and health condition of those who have died from COVID-19, Georgia does not have data for the race of many of those deaths.
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state’s public health commissioner, said at a press conference Wednesday the state has been collecting data but also has to go back and fill in the gaps where counties and hospitals have not been reporting full information.
At the county level, there are only totals of cases and deaths, not broken down by zip code.
Health officials also have said they do not know how many people are in the ICU or are on ventilators because of the virus.
But the coronavirus is impacting black Americans especially
In an appearance Thursday on the BBC World News, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms compared what’s happening in the United States with a saying she grew up hearing as a child.
“When white America catches a cold, black America catches the flu,” Bottoms recounted. “In this case, it is pneumonia in black America.”
Some background:
About one in three people who became sick enough to require hospitalization from COVID-19 were African American, according to hospital data from the first month of the U.S. epidemic released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Even though 33% of those hospitalized patients were black, African Americans constitute 13% of the U.S. population. By contrast, the report found that 45% of hospitalizations were among white people, who make up 76% percent of the population. And 8% of hospitalizations were among Hispanics, who make up 18% of the population.
Primary election delayed to June 9
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is postponing Georgia’s presidential primary and general primary election to June 9, delaying the vote by three weeks amid concerns over safety at the polls.
The extension of Georgia’s public health emergency to May 13 gave him the legal authority to move the vote, as well as several reports of challenges local officials were facing trying to prepare for an election in a pandemic.
A GPB News/Georgia News Lab survey of more than 80 of the state’s election directors last week found them grappling with a potential shortage of poll workers, voting location closures and difficulty implementing social distancing at the polls.
“Looking at the situation on the ground, county elections officials were still having major issues with the ability to staff their precincts with poll workers, and we felt that moving out the elections three weeks will give them additional time,” Raffensperger said. “We understand it will still be a challenge, but it’s something that’s a hard and fast date.”
MORE: Georgia Elections Officials Prep for ‘Unprecedented’ Primary As Coronavirus Looms
Deadlines for an election cycle run several months, so June 9 is the latest date the primary can be held because of the November 3, 2020 general election, he said.
Stay-home order, public health emergency extended
Kemp extended Georgia's stay-at-home order through April 30 as the state continues to see a rapid increase in COVID-19 testing, cases and deaths. "While I'm encouraged by some of the recent data, we still have incredible challenges before us," a somber Kemp said in a Wednesday press conference.
All provisions of the previous executive order will remain in place, which means bars, nightclubs, gyms and other places where people gather will remain close, and restaurants will still be limited to delivery, take-out or curbside pickup.
Georgia’s public health emergency will now run through May 13, Kemp also announced Wednesday morning.
The original declaration was set to expire April 13. Under state law, the governor can renew the emergency, and both Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston agree with the move and will not call a special legislative session.
“To ensure the health and well-being of Georgians, I will extend the public health state of emergency through May 13, 2020,” Kemp said in a statement. “This measure will allow us to continue to deploy resources to communities in need, lend support to frontline medical providers, and keep preparing as we brace for potential patient surge in our healthcare facilities. We deeply appreciate the hard work of Georgians who are sheltering in place, using social distancing, and helping us flatten the curve. We are in this fight together.”
When the original public health emergency was signed, there were 66 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and one death. Now, the state has over 10,000 cases and more than 350 deaths across virtually every county.
Department of Public Health: stay at home and wear a mask
The latest data from DPH cites a “sharp increase” in cases and deaths, as the state expands testing and begins to grapple with just how much COVID-19 has spread.
“Without question, these numbers also tell us that COVID-19 is widespread throughout Georgia,” a news release from the department says.
Tips: Stay home, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and wear a mask if you have to go out in public, especially in coronavirus hotspots.
CVS has drive-thru COVID-19 testing in Atlanta
The state and CVS Health are partnering to operate a drive-thru COVID-19 rapid testing site in a Georgia Tech parking deck.
At full capacity, the site could process about 1,000 tests per day in about 30 minutes per test, the governor’s office said.
"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," Kemp said in a press release. "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."
It’s important to note that you cannot just drive up and get a test: there is an online pre-screening and registration for an appointment.
The tests are free.
University labs will boost testing capacity
Kemp announced last week a laboratory surge capacity plan that will utilize resources in the University System of Georgia, the Georgia Public Health Laboratory and Emory University to ramp up the availability of PCR testing for COVID-19.
"Adequate testing for COVID-19 has continued to be a top priority for the Coronavirus Task Force as we fight this pandemic," Kemp said. "With this innovative partnership between state government agencies, our world-class research institutions, and private-sector partners, we will be able to dramatically increase testing capacity."
From the release: “A major hurdle in this process has been securing critical reagents, instrumentation, and supplies needed in the PCR process from commercial vendors to ramp up and begin testing. Supply chain volatility has been a barrier to implementation and could continue to put the testing process at risk across the state.”
Once fully operational, the state expects an additional 3,000 samples a day can be processed, cutting down on a reporting time and giving officials a better picture of where the virus has spread. Equipment and supplies are being transferred to Georgia State University, Augusta University, Emory University and the Georgia Public Health Laboratory to operate with minimal disruptions.
VISUALIZE: Map of coronavirus infections and deaths
GPB’s Grant Blankenship created a map showing the impact of coronavirus on a per capita level of cases and deaths per 100,000 people in all 159 counties. It shows a magnitude of virus that raw numbers might mask, especially in southwest Georgia.
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