STAFF REPORT :::
A Piedmont Fayette Hospital patient has tested presumptively positive for COVID-19 and officials are awaiting confirmatory testing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The Fayette patient is among five new presumptive positive results. Those include one each in Cobb and Gwinnett counties and two in Dekalb County.
These individuals are hospitalized and the sources of their infections are unknown.
The CDC has confirmed six COVID-19 cases including three in Fulton County and one each in Floyd, Polk and Cobb counties.
There are now 11 presumptive positive COVID-19 cases awaiting CDC confirmation including three in Cobb County, two each in Fulton, Gwinnett and Dekalb counties and one each in Fayette and Cherokee counties.
Governor Brian Kemp in a Monday afternoon press conference also announced that one previously-presumptive positive case involving an airline passenger had been determined to be negative.
According to a press release issued by Kemp later Monday night, that individual, a South Korean airline passenger who recently traveled from Incheon International Airport to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, was initially tested after customs officials determined they “appeared to be displaying symptoms consistent with COVID-19.”
The passenger was transported to the CDC’s airport quarantine unit for evaluation and was later transferred to a nearby hospital, where they were tested for COVID-19.
The Georgia Department of Public Health has now confirmed this individual does not have COVID-19.
State officials have notified federal and local partners – including airport officials – about this individual’s negative test result.
Authorities say the overall risk of COVID-19 to the general public remains low, but they are now advising that elderly people and individuals with chronic medical conditions may be at increased risk.
All Georgians are advised to follow the following basic prevention measures:
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 you develop a 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 travel and symptoms.
For additional information about COVID-19, please visit dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html.