General Use of this Report

The data in this report can be used to assess the extent of COVID-19 transmission among preschool/daycare aged children (0-4 years), K-12 school aged children (5-17 years), and college/professional school aged adults (18-22 years) in Georgia. Click on the above tabs to see statewide and county level COVID-19 data. This report is updated weekly. Please consult additional resources to understand trends and other factors affecting your county.

• Additional county level trends can be seen by selecting individual counties in the COVID-19 Cases Over Time graph found here: https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report

• County level health equity data can be found here: https://covid19.emory.edu/13

• The Georgia Geospatial Information office has a COVID-19 data hub which includes county level demographic data, regional COVID-19 hospital census and hospital capacity data, maps for social distancing and mobility, maps for vulnerable populations including a COVID-19 impact planning report, and maps for business and unemployment available here: https://covid-hub.gio.georgia.gov/

This report will be updated on a weekly basis.

Additional county level information about covid cases and vaccinations among school aged children can be found here: https://chhs-gt.shinyapps.io/age_dashboard/

Data Description

Age categories were chosen based on the closest approximation to preschool/daycare aged children (0-4 years), K-12 school aged children (5-17 years old), and college/professional school aged adults (18-22 years). School Age Category: These age groups were chosen based on the closest approximation of children in elementary school (5-10 years), middle school (11-13 years), and high school (14-17 years).

Update: The population counts underlying rate data have been updated from 2018 to 2020 population counts. More information can be found under the measures section.

COVID-19 Cases

A confirmed case is an individual with a positive molecular (PCR) test. Confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), defined as an individual with a positive molecular (PCR) test. Only molecular test results are used in identifying confirmed cases. These test results are reported through multiple sources including electronic lab reporting (ELR), State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS), faxed case reports and calls from providers to DPH. All persons who have a PCR lab-confirmed infection and are reported to DPH are counted as confirmed cases.

An antigen positive case has a positive antigen test result on a respiratory specimen.

All laboratory positive cases include cases that have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 with either a PCR or antigen test.

County refers to county of residence; cases are counted according to county of residence.

Hospitalizations

Hospitalizations are defined as cases who were reported as hospitalized at the time the case was reported or investigated. For a more detailed description of the data and data limitations see: https://ga-covid19.ondemand.sas.com/docs/GA_COVID19_Dashboard_Guide.pdf These data may not accurately represent true spread throughout school age children and should be considered with additional factors affecting the community in consultation with the District Public Health Department.

Deaths COVID-19 deaths include both confirmed deaths and probable deaths. Death plots therefore may appear different from those displayed on the Daily Status Report (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-daily-status-report), which only shows confirmed deaths.

“Confirmed Deaths”: This number includes confirmed COVID-19 cases that were either reported to DPH as deceased by healthcare providers or medical examiners/coroners, identified by death certificates with COVID-19 indicated as the cause of death, or there is evidence that COVID-19 contributed to the individual’s death.

Probable Death: probable case that was either reported to DPH as deceased by healthcare providers or medical examiners/coroners, identified by death certificates with COVID-19 indicated as the cause of death, or there is evidence that COVID contributed to the individual’s death OR individual with a death certificate that has COVID-19 indicated as the cause of death and there is no laboratory evidence for SARS-CoV-2

Date of Death: date the individual died.

Measures

Click on the All Laboratory Positive Cases tab to view all laboratory positive cases.

• These data are aggregated by week (Monday through Sunday) the case was reported, and data aggregation is only reported for the most recent full week.
• Number of Cases: the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reported to DPH during the specified time period.
• Cases per 100,000: number of cases per 100,000 residents in the county reported, using 2020 Georgia population counts data from Oasis.state.ga.gov. On the report posted 10/08/2020, the report stopped using 2020 Georgia census data and moved to 2020 Georgia census data.

Emergency Department visits

Source

Syndromic Surveillance (SS) provides a method for timely detection of potential clusters or outbreaks of specified diseases/events (Syndromes). SS data include emergency department (ED) visits based on the patient’s chief complaint upon admission and/or discharge diagnosis. Text and diagnosis codes are searched to identify syndromes which can indicate changes in the number of people seeking care in emergency departments for those diseases or conditions. For the purpose of this report, the Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Covid-19 (COVID) syndromes were used to analyze trends in ED visits potentially related to COVID-19. The most recent data analyzed begins 3 days prior to the date of this report due to delays in reporting.

• ILI Syndrome identifies ED visits that present for symptoms of respiratory or influenza like illness and includes: Chief complaint text for fever, influenza, RSV, viral infection, viral pneumonia, cough (if fever), or sore throat (if fever). Note that ILI does not distinguish between visits for COVID-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

• COVID Syndrome identifies ED visits that refer to COVID-19 and includes: Chief complaint text for “coronavirus”, “covid”, “c-19”, or “ncov”. Selected discharge diagnosis codes (ICD or Snomed) relevant to COVID-19; including confirmed COVID-19, suspected/probable COVID-19, unspecified coronavirus infection, exposure to COVID-19, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. COVID Syndrome excludes visits related to Covid-19 testing or exposure with no mention of symptoms.

Additional notes: Approximately 90% of Georgia EDs currently report to DPH, most data are available within 72 hours of patient visit. 80% of facilities are currently submitting discharge diagnosis information, final diagnosis may differ from the chief complaint recorded during admission. Changes in counts may vary if a new facility begins reporting to DPH or temporarily stops reporting due to technical issues. Documentation of chief complaint varies by facility. SS data does not necessarily depict the true burden of specified diseases/events. Date represents the ED visit date. Criteria for syndromes are subject to change as additional information is received.

Measures

• % ILI visits: % of all ED visits that were for ILI (ILI visits/total ED visits) during the specified time period.
• % COVID visits: % of all ED visits that were for COVID (COVID visits/total ED visits) during the specified time period.

Laboratory Tests

Source

Molecular (PCR) test results reported to DPH through ELR only, not all reporting sources, therefore these data do not represent all tests performed in Georgia. ELR reports include both positive and negative results; other reporting sources do not consistently report negative results. County represents county of residence. The date reflects the date the test was reported.

Measures

• Total PCR: The number of PCR tests reported from laboratories through ELR.
• Positive PCR: The number of positive PCR tests reported from laboratories through ELR.
• PCR % Positive: % of all reported PCR tests that were positive (positive PCR tests/total PCR tests) during the specified time period.

School Clusters

Source

Clusters of cases in daycare, schools, and higher education settings reported to or identified by DPH.

Note 1: This number may not reflect all clusters due to under-reporting.

Note 2: Clusters include all active and closed investigations. As reported clusters are investigated, those that do not meet the following confirmed outbreak definition will be removed from the data.

Confirmed Daycare/School/Higher Education Outbreaks Definition: Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 in two or more people (students or staff) with symptom onset/collection dates within a 14 day period who are epidemiologically linked, do not share a household, and were not identified as close contacts of each other in another setting during standard case investigation or contact tracing.

County Data

Please be patient data can take a moment to load

Measures

Confirmed Cases Tab

• 30-day daily cases: daily cases reported for the previous 30 days (02/06/2022 - 03/09/2022). Date represents the date the case was reported to DPH.
• All cases to date: All confirmed cases reported to DPH from 02/06/2022 - 03/09/2022.
• 14-day case count: All confirmed cases reported to DPH during the 14 days preceding the report publication date (02/24/2022 - 03/09/2022).
• 14-day case rate (per 100k): 14-day case count/100K residents based on 2018 census data.
• 14-day rate category: Based on the 14-day case rate.
  • High: > 100 cases/100K
  • Moderately high: > 50-100 cases/100K
  • Moderate: > 10-50 cases/100K
  • Low: > 0-10 cases/100K
• Change in last 2 weeks: Change in case count during the previous 14 days, comparing the second 7-day period to the first 7-day period.
  • Increasing: 5% or greater change
  • Decreasing: -5% or less change
  • Less than 5% change
  • <5 cases reported in previous 2 weeks, % change not calculated

Antigen Postive Cases Tab

• All probable cases to date: All probable cases reported to DPH from (02/01/2020 - 03/09/2022).
• Antigen positive cases to date: All antigen positive cases reported to DPH.
• 14-day antigen case count: All antigen cases reported to DPH during the 14 days preceding the report publication date (02/24/2022 - 03/09/2022).
• 30-day antigen positive cases: Daily cases of antigen positive reported for the previous 30 days (02/06/2022 - 03/09/2022). Date represents the date the case was reported to DPH.
• Antigen positive cases: All antigen positive cases reported to DPH.
• Change in last 2 weeks: Change in case count during the previous 14 days, comparing the second 7-day period to the first 7-day period.
  • Increasing: 5% or greater change
  • Decreasing: -5% or less change
  • Less than 5% change
  • <5 cases reported in previous 2 weeks, % change not calculated

All Laboratory Positive Cases (PCR and Antigen Positive)

• Laboratory positive cases: All laboratory positive cases reported to DPH from (02/01/2020 - 03/09/2022).
• 30-day laboratory positive cases: Daily counts of laboratory cases reported for the previous 30 days (02/06/2022 - 03/09/2022). Date represents the date the case was reported to DPH.`
• 14-day antigen case count: All laboratory positive cases reported to DPH during the 14 days preceding the report publication date (02/24/2022 - 03/09/2022).
• 14-day case rate (per 100k): 14-day case count/100K residents based on 2018 census data.
• Laboratory positive cases to date: All laboratory positive cases reported to DPH during the specified date range.
• Change in last 2 weeks: Change in case count during the previous 14 days, comparing the second 7-day period to the first 7-day period.
  • Increasing: 5% or greater change
  • Decreasing: -5% or less change
  • Less than 5% change
  • <5 cases reported in previous 2 weeks, % change not calculated

Please send any questions regarding this report to contactpublichealth@dph.ga.gov.