As coronavirus cases continue to climb in certain parts of Northwest Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp laid out plans to issue vaccines for COVID-19 to long-term care facilities that house some of those most vulnerable to the deadly virus, as well as health care workers on the front lines of the ongoing pandemic.
In Georgia, more than 2,900 residents in long-term care facilities have died from the coronavirus. Kemp said at a roundtable discussion Monday with nursing home administrators around the state that he hopes the first vaccine shipment will arrive during the first or second week of December.
Kemp said the plan is to have health care workers and nursing homes get priority on the first shipments.
Tennessee's first shipment of highly anticipated coronavirus vaccine is also imminent, expected to arrive in about two weeks, according to that state's top health official.
Georgia ranks fourth in the nation for coronavirus cases in long-term-care facilities per capita and ninth in deaths. The virus continues to spread in Northwest Georgia, where Whitfield and Murray counties lead the state with cases per capita.
Of the 2,916 long-term-care facility deaths in Georgia, at least 70 have come from the seven-county area of Northwest Georgia in the Times Free Press' coverage area.
Outbreaks at nursing homes in Fort Oglethorpe, Rossville and Dalton have devastated facilities across Northwest Georgia. The latest outbreak is at Dade Health and Rehabilitation in Trenton, where a combined 52 staff members and residents have tested positive for COVID-19.
Government closures
The Walker County Courthouse in LaFayette was closed Monday morning due to COVID-19.A judicial emergency was declared and the court will be closed until 9 a.m. on Dec. 7.Courthouse employees are encouraged to work remotely to provide essential services during the closure order. The county elections office will remain open to handle processing for the upcoming runoff election in January.In Dalton, all proceedings for the Dalton Municipal Court scheduled for Dec. 2 - 9 have been postponed due to the rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Whitfield County.Rescheduled dates will be issued and anyone with questions about their court dates should contact the court at 706-278-1913 ext. 101.The next scheduled date for municipal court is Dec. 16.
Five residents have died and nine have recovered as of Monday afternoon.
In early October, Kemp committed $113 million in federal CARES Act funds to help those facilities pay for COVID-19 staff testing and additional staffing costs after public health officials pleaded for more funding.
"The funding will prioritize the health, safety and quality of life of our state's most vulnerable citizens," Kemp said in a statement at the time.
Kemp told nursing home administrators that he was "cautiously optimistic" about the COVID-19 numbers after Thanksgiving weekend but admitted the state wouldn't know how travel will affect new cases for another two or three weeks.
Neil Pruitt, CEO of PruittHealth, was one of the administrators at Monday's roundtable. Pruitt said consistent staffing is one of the key ways to help fight the battles in nursing homes. At least two dozen PruittHealth nursing homes have had positive COVID-19 cases in Georgia, including those in Catoosa, Floyd and Walker counties.
Murray County still leads the state with new COVID-19 cases per capita, according to data by the Georgia Department of Public Health. However, the county has seen a slight decline in the seven-day average from a high of 35 on Nov. 24 to 20 reported on Monday.
Whitfield County is seeing a similar trend in the last week but is still second in the state in new cases per capita.
Contact Patrick Filbin at pfilbin@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6476. Follow him on Twitter @PatrickFilbin.