January 13, 2020 Update

DPH Northeast Health District Opens Drive-Through Vaccination Clinic By Appointment

In order to meet the increased demand resulting from expansion of the first tier for vaccine recipients, the GA Department of Public Health's (DPH) Northeast Health District opened an appointment-based, combination COVID-19 testing and vaccination drive-through at a new site - located at 355 Oneta Street in Athens - on January 12, 2021.

The Northeast Health District had also operated drive-through COVID-19 testing sites on Mitchell Bridge Road in Athens and at the Winterville Center for Community and Culture. Both of those sites are now closed.

Both testing and vaccination will be provided free of charge at the new site, but appointments are required. To make an appointment for either testing or vaccination, visit PublicHealthAthens.com or call 706-340-0996.

Athens-location testing by DPH will be reduced to 3 days per week: Monday through Wednesday to pivot toward more vaccine administration. There are other testing options available in the area. Visit the Castlight Location Finder to locate other testing options.

COVID Work Session Presentation - January 12, 2021

COVID-19 Update at Mayor & Commission Work Session + Presentation on Vaccination

Each month, Manager Blaine Williams provides the Mayor and Commission - and the community - with summary updates about the ACCGov and community response to COVID-19.

These updates take place at the Work Session meetings, which are opportunities for the Mayor and Commission to discuss fewer items in a more in-depth fashion.

January's update included a presentation by Dr. Stephan Goggans with the Northeast Health District about the vaccination efforts in the district, including a Q & A with the Mayor and Commission.

Watch the video of the Work Session presentation with Dr. Goggans
View a PDF of the Manager's agenda item

Georgia Department of Public Health Daily Status Report

Jan. 13 Case Update for Athens-Clarke County

The Wednesday, January 13 update shows an increase of 749 positive cases and 5 deaths since Wednesday, January 6.

Cumulative case counts from February are no longer being displayed on the graphic. For reference, here are the cumulative numbers from the beginning of each month:

January 1, 2021 - 8,580
December 1 - 6,732
November 1 - 5,872
October 1 - 5,121
September 1 - 3,082
August 1 - 1,694
July 1 - 574
June 1 - 293
May 1 - 155
April 1 - 54
March 1 - 4

The Daily Status Report is now updated once daily at 3:00 p.m. to allow time to process and validate laboratory and case reports. The Daily Status Report is available at https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report.

Positive UGA COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck - Week 21 (Jan. 4-10)

The University of Georgia DawgCheck tool gives members of the campus community the ability to self-monitor and to facilitate information sharing internally and with the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). Any student or employee with a positive COVID-19 test is required to report the test in DawgCheck.

Last Five Weeks of Tests

Positive COVID-19 Tests Reported Through DawgCheck

Visit the UGA Health Center Website with these graphs and other updates.

The table above reflects the total number of positive test results reported through DawgCheck each week. It is updated every Wednesday. Please note the following:

Positive tests reported through DawgCheck are from any of the approximately 50,000 faculty, staff, and students connected to the University of Georgia, whether located in Athens, extended campuses, extension offices across the state, or even other states and countries for students who elected to take online classes.
The totals may include reports from individuals who have not been on campus recently, there may be delays in reporting, and the totals may even include individuals who have recovered.
Therefore, the data does not serve as an accurate barometer of the current status of COVID-19 at any point in time at any one of UGA’s campuses.
For the week of January 4, 29% of the tests in the “Other” category were performed in Athens-Clarke County and its 5 adjoining counties, and the remaining 71% were located elsewhere in the state. Thirteen students reported positive tests done outside of the state. Five instructional faculty reported a positive test.

DawgCheck and other University of Georgia-related COVID information is available at the University Health Center website at https://uhs.uga.edu/healthtopics/covid-19-health-and-exposure-updates.

Northeast Health District Weekly Report - January 11

The Georgia Department of Public Health's (DPH) Northeast Health District produces a weekly COVID-19 testing report for the 10-county district that covers Athens-Clarke, Barrow, Elbert, Greene, Jackson, Madison, Morgan, Oconee, Oglethorpe, and Walton counties.

Athens-Clarke County's page of the report is shown in the first of the two charts below, while the second one shows the previous week's report for comparison purposes.

Current and Previous Week's Reports

Northeast Health District County Report - Athens-Clarke County - Jan. 11

Georgia Department of Public Health Northeast Health District Weekly Report

The newest weekly report for Jan. 11 was released on Wed., Jan. 13.

The report includes county-by-county information about:

Total number of PCR tests performed by all providers reported to DPH
Percent of total tested with positive results
Positive cases per 100,000 total population
Cumulative number hospitalized
Percent of positive cases requiring hospitalization
Cumulative deaths
Percent of positive cases who died
Deaths per 100,000 total population
Positive cases by race/ethnicity and age (from tests performed by the Northeast Health District only - does not include other providers)

While reports are dated on Monday and use data for the previous week, the reports will usually be posted on Wednesday due to the time required to assemble and confirm the report.

The report is available each week at: publichealthathens.com/wp/programs/infectious-disease/coronavirus-covid-19-information/athens-district-covid-data/

Frequency of Updates

This coronavirus email / text update is sent weekly during normal weeks, usually on Wednesdays, with other updates as necessary with important information.

Questions can still be directed to www.accgov.com/coronavirus, which will be updated regularly, the info line at 706-613-3333, or coronavirus@accgov.com.