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LATEST UPDATE: A 67-year-old man who was hospitalized is Georgia's first death from coronavirus, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Thursday.
Also on Thursday Kemp and Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H., Georgia Department of Public Health commissioner, announced a daily status report page for confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia. The report updates every night at midnight to ensure accurate and regular information is provided to the public. The new tool can be found on the DPH website.
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UPDATE: Georgia now has 31 confirmed or presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in 12 counties, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.
State officials say there are 12 confirmed cases and 19 presumptive positive cases.
The department is awaiting confirmatory testing from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on three new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 the illness caused by the coronavirus. Two patients from DeKalb County are hospitalized. The third case involves a Lowndes County resident who also is hospitalized. The source of the infection is not known in any of the three cases.
(Read more coronavirus coverage here)
There are six new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia:
* A resident of Lee County who is hospitalized; the source of the infection is unknown.
* A resident of Cobb County who is hospitalized and has a history of travel outside the United States.
* A resident of Floyd County, who is hospitalized; the source of the infection is unknown.
* Three residents of Bartow County; two are hospitalized and the sources of their infections are unknown. The third patient is not hospitalized, and while the source of the infection is not known, this individual does share a connection with the individual from Floyd County.
Georgia's confirmed cases are in these counties:
- Fulton - 3
- Floyd - 2
- Polk - 1
- Cobb - 2
- Bartow - 3
- Lee - 1
Presumed positive cases are in these counties:
- Cobb - 6
- Fulton - 3
- Fayette - 1
- Dekalb - 4
- Gwinnett - 2
- Cherokee - 1
- Charlton - 1
- Lowndes - 1
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ORIGINAL STORY: Three cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 have now been confirmed in Georgia and another case is awaiting confirmation, according to a news release from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testing has confirmed the presumptive positive test for COVID-19 in a resident of Floyd County. The original testing in that case was done on Thursday and the individual is now hospitalized.
An individual from Cobb County who tested positive for COVID-19 recently returned from Italy and is isolated at home.
(READ MORE: Woman who went to Georgia hospital twice tests positive for virus)
Another individual from Fulton County is currently hospitalized. The source of that person's exposure is not clear at this time, the release states.
Officials are also waiting for confirmatory testing on a presumptive positive test for COVID-19 in a resident of Gwinnett County who recently returned from Italy. Initial testing in that case was completed on Friday. That person was self-monitoring for symptoms at home and is now isolated at home.
Governor Kemp and DPH Commissioner Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H., are continuing to remind all Georgians that the overall risk of COVID-19 to the general public remains low and there is no evidence of community spread of COVID-19 in Georgia at this time.
"Federal and state officials continue to work closely together to conduct testing and determine the extent of exposure for confirmed cases of COVID-19," Kemp said in the release. "The risk to Georgians remains low. We ask Georgians to stay vigilant, utilize best practices to mitigate health risk, and remain calm."
Toomey said the Department of Public Health is prepared and working to identify the contacts of infected individuals.
"Despite these new cases, the overall risk of COVID-19 to the general public remains low; but each new case of COVID-19 in Georgia reinforces the fact we should all be practicing basic prevention measures that are extremely effective in limiting the spread of COVID-19 and all respiratory illnesses," Toomey said in the release.
Meanwhile, people who live in the same household as the man from Williamson County, Tennessee, with coronavirus have tested negative for the disease. That patient has a recent history of out-of-state, domestic travel, state health officials said. Tennessee only has one confirmed case of COVID-19 at this time.
Testing at most state laboratories, including Georgia, is just underway. Tennessee, on the other hand, was one of the first five states to conduct its own testing.
Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke has since announced the launch of a new website that was created to provide residents with updates on any potential changes to city government's operations caused by COVID-19.
Most patients with confirmed COVID-19 infection have mild respiratory illness with fever, cough and shortness of breath. A smaller number of patients have severe symptoms requiring hospitalization.
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. 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 information about coronavirus in Georgia and Tennessee, visit dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or tn.gov/health.
Information also is available through the Chattanooga-Hamilton County coronavirus hotline at 423-209-8383 weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. or the Tennessee Department of Health hotline at 877-857-2945 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Central time daily.