Photograph by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
On Monday, a prominent doctor gave his prediction for when cases will peak locally and a pair of Atlantans kicked off a restaurant bingo game. Here’s your Tuesday morning update:
• There are now 3,032 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Georgia. 102 people have died. 773 have been hospitalized. 13,457 people have been tested. [GA Dept. of Public Health]
• The amount of people being tested in the state is still extremely low, due the fact that the state is primarily testing those with severe symptoms. Vox laid out data from March 30 for all 50 states and Georgia ranked 43rd for the amount of tests performed per million people in the state’s population. At the time the data was collected, Georgia had performed 1,186 tests per million people and had 2,683 positive cases, 80 deaths, and had run 12,596 tests. Just to the north, Tennessee had performed 3,013 tests per million people and had 1,537 positive cases, 7 deaths, and had run 20,674 tests. [Vox]
But, of course, all numbers regarding coronavirus have to be taken with some grain of salt due to lags in reporting from hospitals and delays in test processing, as GPB reporter Stephen Fowler pointed out on Twitter.
A reminder – numbers you see are what hospitals report to the state+don’t tell the full story. At least one county gov says a hospital in their region isn’t constantly updating.
It’s hard to know if cases are growing/slowing with testing lag, too. #gapolhttps://t.co/q3Sr8YgErw pic.twitter.com/mBGSg2AHit
— stephen fowler // voting+georgia politics (@stphnfwlr) March 30, 2020
• Dr. Carlos del Rio, the Executive Associate Dean for Emory at Grady and infectious disease expert who has been a prominent local voice throughout the outbreak, is citing a new statistical model that predicts COVID-19 deaths in Georgia will peak on April 23, meaning positive cases would peak just before then. As the AJC reports, “I tell people my phrase is, let’s erase April,” del Rio said Sunday. “The most important thing we can do is stay home. Staying home saves lives. I really think by early May we’ll be fine.” So please, please, keep social distancing and stay home. [AJC]
• Joseph Lowery’s family announced they plan to hold a public memorial for the civil rights leader, who died Friday night at age 98 of natural causes, in “late summer or early fall” due to social distancing guidelines. A private funeral is planned in the meantime. [Joseph & Evelyn Lowery Institution]
• The University System of Georgia, which includes Georgia Tech, Georgia State, and the University of Georgia, announced its schools are going through their respective inventories to find personal protective equipment (PPE) to donate to healthcare workers, taking items from nursing and science programs, campus health clinics, and from campus maintenance departments. The school system has found and is donating more than 30 ventilators, more than 375,000 gloves, and more than 19,000 masks, among other equipment. [University System of Georgia]
• Decatur’s Chai Pani is hosting an online auction this week, with proceeds benefiting their employee relief fund. Items listed include a limited edition sweatshirt, art and jewelry created by employees, private cocktail or cooking lessons, and more. The auction ends at 5 p.m. on April 2. [Chai Pani]
• Krog Street Market wants you to know that several of their restaurants are still open for carry-out. The development sent out a press release to the media noting that “the language of our initial messaging might have been confusing” and wanted to be clear that Recess, Bar Mercado, Pho Nam, Hop City, Varuni Napoli, Suzy Siu’s, Fred’s Meat and Bread, and Gu’s are still offering takeout and/or delivery. [Krog Street Market]
• Need a distraction? Summerhill has released has cute downloadable coloring book that features several Georgia Avenue businesses including Big Softie’s soft serve, Junior’s Pizza, and even Fernando, the Great Pyrenees mascot of Little Bear. Download it here. [Summerhill Atlanta]
• Speaking of fun distractions, Ted Golden (a.k.a. Foodie Buddha) and Mariana Novak have created a local restaurant bingo game—Atlanta Food Bingo—that encourages players to support restaurants and win prizes. There are six bingo cards to choose from, each representing a different geographical region, and players who order carryout or takeout, buy merch, or donate to a particular restaurant can mark it off on the card. Mark off five locations (they don’t even have to be in a row, the rules denote), and you get one entry for a prize. The contest runs through April 13. [Eater Atlanta]
• Today’s adorable video alert—Jackson Elementary School principal Brent McBride created a Billie Eilish parody video all about telelearning for his students. [11Alive]
