- Joined
- May 15, 2013
- Messages
- 55,637
- Reaction score
- 192,598
GAINESVILLE, Ga. — One of Georgia’s current hot spots in during the coronavirus pandemic is Hall County. The hospital in Gainesville doesn't expect a peak of COVID-19 cases there until mid-June.
Hall County has the highest per-capita rate for confirmed COVID cases in north Georgia. While Georgia begins to reopen, the Gainesville area is just trying to breathe.
Different medical and political experts told Channel 2’s Tony Thomas that the high numbers are because of the volume of poultry plants and the makeup of the community.
That's being felt at Northeast Georgia Medical Center where 153 COVID-19 patients are currently being treated with dozens more waiting for test results.
The hospital said an additional 30 nurses arrived Wednesday. Officials told Thomas that more doctors and intensive care unit beds are on the way.
The hospital said its use of ventilators is at about 40% to 45% right now.
Hospital in Gainesville bracing for peak of COVID-19 as hot spot forms in Hall County
In Georgia, Gov. Brian Kemp was one of the last to issue stay-at-home orders and he's among the first to reopen businesses, including nail and hair salons.
"I wasn't pleased with the decision to open us back up," says Regina Ellis, co-owner of Esuites, a salon in Albany.
Ellis says she knows people who have died from the coronavirus. While she's sympathetic to workers who need to earn a living, she's watching infection rates and plans to wait a few more weeks before going back to work herself.
Ellis says her customers understand.
"They don't want to come to the salon just to look good — to look good in a casket," she says.
As Coronavirus Restrictions Ease, Many Still Wary