Cases

Click on the Confirmed Cases, Probable Cases, or All Laboratory Positive Cases tab to view confirmed, probable, or laboratory positive cases. A confirmed case is an individual with a positive molecular (PCR) test. A probable case meets at least one of the following criteria: has a positive antigen test on a respiratory specimen; OR has not had a confirmatory COVID-19 test but has symptoms compatible with COVID-19 AND a known exposure to a COVID-19 case; OR the individual has died and the death certificate lists COVID-19 disease or SARS-CoV-2 as an underlying cause of death or a significant condition contributing to death. All laboratory positive cases include cases that have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 with either a PCR or antigen test.

Source

Cases reported to DPH. Cases may be reported through multiple sources including electronic lab reporting (ELR), entered directly into the State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS), faxed case reports, and calls from providers to DPH. People may have multiple tests performed but each person is counted only once, even if they have multiple positive tests. Cases are counted according to county of residence.

Measures

Confirmed Cases Tab

• Confirmed cases to date: All confirmed cases reported to DPH from 02/01/2020 - 05/21/2021.
• 30-day average daily cases: Daily average (average of the previous 7 days) confirmed cases reported for the previous 30 days (04/22/2021 - 05/21/2021). Date represents the date the case was reported to DPH.
• Confirmed cases (date range): All confirmed cases reported to DPH during the specified date range.
• 7-day confirmed case rate (per 100k): 7-day case count/100K residents based on 2018 census data. Rates are not calculated if there were <5 cases reported during this period.
• 14-day confirmed case rate (per 100k): 14-day case count/100K residents based on 2018 census data. Rates are not calculated if there were <5 cases reported during this period.

Probable Cases Tab

• All probable cases to date: All probable cases reported to DPH from 02/01/2020 - 05/21/2021.
• Antigen positive cases to date: All antigen positive cases reported to DPH from 02/01/2020 - 05/21/2021.
• 30-day average antigen positive cases: Daily average (average of the previous 7 days) of antigen positive reported for the previous 30 days (04/22/2021 - 05/21/2021). Date represents the date the case was reported to DPH.
• Antigen positive cases (date range): All antigen positive cases reported to DPH during the specified date range.

All Laboratory Positive Cases (PCR and Antigen Positive)

• Laboratory positive cases to date : All laboratory positive cases reported to DPH from 02/01/2020 - 05/21/2021.
• 30-day average laboratory positive cases: Daily average (average of the previous 7 days) of laboratory cases reported for the previous 30 days (04/22/2021 - 05/21/2021). Date represents the date the case was reported to DPH.
• Laboratory positive cases (date range): All laboratory positive cases reported to DPH during the specified date range.
• 7-day laboratory positive case rate (per 100k): 7-day laboratory positive case count/100K residents based on 2018 census data. Rates are not calculated if there were <5 cases reported during this period.
• 14-day laboratory positive case rate (per 100k): 14-day laboratory positive case count/100K residents based on 2018 census data. Rates are not calculated if there were <5 cases reported during this 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. People with a positive test often get retested and may test positive multiple times. These repeat positive tests will be counted as new positive tests, but they will not be reported as new cases. County represents county of residence. The date reflects the date the specimen was collected. The most recent data analyzed begins 3 days prior to the date of this report due to delays in reporting.

Measures

• 30-day average daily PCR % Positive: Daily average (average of the previous 7 days) % of reported PCR tests that were positive (positive PCR tests/total PCR tests) for the previous 30 days (04/22/2021 - 05/21/2021). Date represents the date the specimen was collected.
• Number of PCR tests performed: Total PCR tests performed and reported to DPH by ELR, by day during the previous 30 days.
• PCR % Positive: % of all reported PCR tests that were positive (positive PCR tests/total PCR tests) during the specified time period. Consecutive weeks are presented to see the trend during the 14-day period. Due to reporting lags, this number may change over time if a laboratory is delayed in reporting results. % positive is not calculated if there were <10 tests during a 7-day period or <20 tests during a 14-day period.

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. County represents county of residence. 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

• ED visits: The total number of ED visits among county residents during the specified date range. This number can be affected by facilities beginning to report or not sending reports on a given day, therefore we present % of visits related to COVID or ILI to understand the burden of ED visits related to these conditions.
• Daily ILI visits: Daily number of all ED visits that were for ILI for the previous 30 days (04/22/2021 - 05/21/2021). This number can be affected by facilities changing reporting practices.
• % ILI visits: % of all ED visits that were for ILI (ILI visits/total ED visits) during the specified time period. Consecutive weeks are presented to see the trend during the 14-day period. % ILI visits is not calculated if there are <5 visits during the 14-day period.
  
• Daily COVID visits: Daily COVID visits: Daily number of all ED visits that were for COVID for the previous 30 days (04/22/2021 - 05/21/2021). This number can be affected by facilities changing reporting practices.
• % COVID visits: : % of all ED visits that were for COVID (COVID visits/total ED visits) during the specified time period. Consecutive weeks are presented to see the trend during the 14-day period. % COVID visits is not calculated if there are <5 visits during the 14-day period.

Emerging County of Interest

An Emerging county of interest is defined as a county that meets the below criteria. An emerging county of interest warrants further investigation to understand the cause of the recent increase in cases, and determine whether immediate public health intervention is needed, if not already initiated.

• Criteria: Comparing the current week (most recent 7 days) to the previous week >5% increase in COVID syndrome or ILI syndrome (if ≥5 visits) AND >5% increase in cases (if ≥5 cases), OR >25% change in cases AND >10 cases during most recent week.
• Summary Table: Summarizes if counties meet each indicator in the above criteria.

High Transmission Counties

A county with high transmission indicators is defined as a county that meets the below criteria. These counties have high rates of new COVID-19 cases and a high % of positive PCR tests, indicating that that the virus may be circulating widely in the county.

• Criteria: 14-day cases rate is >100 cases/100,000 county residents (>5 cases during this period) AND 14-day average % positive PCR tests >10% (>20 total tests performed during this period).
• Summary Table: Summarizes if counties meet each indicator in the above criteria.

Supplemental Maps

• 14-Day Case 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
  • Less than 5 cases reported, rate not calculated
• Confirmed COVID-19 Cases: Reflects the % change in case counts during the specified date range, comparing the second 7-day period to the first 7-day period.
  • Increasing: 5% or greater change
  • Decreasing: -5% or greater change
  • Less than 5% change
  • Less than 5 cases reported, not calculated
• PCR % Positive Category: Reflects the % PCR positive category based on the PCR % positive during the specified date range (14 days).
  • High: > 10% positive
  • Moderate: 5 - 10% positive
  • Low: <5% positive
  • Less than 20 tests in 14-day period, not calculated
• ED Visits with COVID-19 Syndrome: Reflects the % change in ED visits with COVID-19 syndrome during the specified date range, comparing the second 7-day period to the first 7-day period.
  • Increasing: 5% or greater change
  • Decreasing: -5% or greater change
  • Less than 5% change
  • Less than 5 visits, not calculated
• ED Visits with ILI Syndrome: Reflects the % change in ED visits with ILI syndrome during the specified date range, comparing the second 7-day period to the first 7-day period.
  • Increasing: 5% or greater change
  • Decreasing: -5% or greater change
  • Less than 5% change
  • Less than 5 visits, not calculated

Statistical Software used

This report was produced using R version 4.0.5 (2021-03-31).

R Core Team (2021). R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria. URL https://www.R-project.org/.