Forsyth County is the latest county in North Georgia to report a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Forsyth County Board of Commissioners Chairman Laura Semanson says public health notified the county about the positive test result Monday morning.
“Through our Emergency Management Agency, we continue to work in conjunction with partner agencies to monitor the spread of COVID-19 and how it may affect our residents and employees,” Semanson says.
There are now 121 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia, according to the latest figures released by the Georgia Department of Health. One person has died since the outbreak began two weeks ago.
The virus surfaced in Northeast Georgia over the weekend. Officials confirmed two cases in Clarke County. Northeast Georgia Health System announced two other cases were confirmed at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Braselton in Hall County.
HMC prepares
As of this moment, there are no confirmed positive or presumed positive COVID-19 cases at Habersham Medical Center or in Habersham County, according to Habersham Medical Center Vice-President for External Affairs Kesha Clinkscale. Still, as the virus spreads, local health officials are preparing for that possibility.
Habersham Medical Center created a Coronavirus Taskforce made up of hospital leaders and subject matter experts. The task force is “preparing for the possibility that our facility and staff may see patients with the 2019 novel Coronavirus,” says Clinkscale.
The hospital previously released revised visitation rules for its nursing home, Habersham Home. Now, HMC is barring visitors from its hospital as well. (For the latest on HMC’s visitation policy click here.)
In addition to those changes, the hospital has started a webpage to keep the community informed about those pending changes and other COVID-19 updates. The page can be found at www.habershammedical.com/coron
Georgia county governments including Habersham, White, Forsyth, and others also have devoted space on their websites to communicate with residents regarding COVID-19. They urge residents to monitor those sites and the latest guidance from local and state health officials and the CDC.
