According to a report released yesterday by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, Hospital Coordinating Region E – which includes Athens-Clarke County – is experiencing a shortage of critical care beds.
The agency says that only 10 of the region’s 70 critical care beds are available. General inpatient beds are about 80 percent capacity, with 131 beds available.
Data compiled by the Harvard Global Health Initiative shows that Athens-Clarke County is at COVID risk level “Orange,” meaning that stay-at-home orders and/or rigorous test and trace programs are advised.
As for the other counties in Region E, Jackson, Barrow and Franklin counties are similarly at risk level “Orange,” while Elbert, Oglethorpe, Oconee, Morgan, Walton, Greene and Madison counties are at risk level “Yellow,” which also advises for test and trace programs.
According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, as of 5 p.m. yesterday, there are 574 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Athens-Clarke County and 15 confirmed deaths.