By Max Blau
On March 3, the day after Georgia’s first confirmed COVID-19 case, an 11Alive reporter submitted an Open Records request seeking emails sent by Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The following day, a CNN reporter filed a similar request for emails. The following week, the Washington Post asked for even more internal emails from the state’s public health agency.
In the first four months of COVID-19 when Georgia saw more than 84,000 confirmed cases and nearly 3,000 deaths, journalists, advocates and lawyers submitted more than 40 records requests for emails about the Department of Public Health’s response to the pandemic. The requesters sought emails regarding ...
Georgia has streamlined its proposal to the feds for a waiver on health insurance rules, and has postponed its launch till 2022.
State officials cited “the unanticipated impact of COVID-19 on the state and its residents’’ in the announcement last week about the changes.
The pandemic has required a “prioritization of resources” dedicated to responding to the emergency that would otherwise contribute to finalizing and implementing the waiver for a January 2021 launch, state officials told GHN on Monday.
Gov. Brian Kemp’s administration submitted the original waiver plan for federal approval in December.
The state plan, ...
If you haven’t been shocked by the COVID-19 numbers in Georgia, Friday’s figures may do it.
The state easily broke its record for daily cases reported, with 4,484 new infections, more than 1,000 higher than the previous mark. The hospitalization number took an ominous leap, with 331 new admissions for COVID-19 reported Friday across the state.
Many hospitals this week have already reported high numbers of virus patients.
Marietta-based Wellstar Health System, with 11 hospitals, said several locations “are at full capacity due to an influx of patients, and we are working to actively manage capacity across ...
Editor’s Note: This article comes courtesy of the Georgia Recorder
By Ross Williams
In May, the state Public Health commissioner, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, announced plans to quadruple the number of contact tracers across the state, up to 1,000 by late June, to help stem COVID-19 infections.
Nurse Connie DeKeyzer was watching and decided to put in her application. Now, she is one of 1,225 contact tracers across the state keeping an eye on people who may have been exposed to COVID-19.
“When I saw Dr. Toomey talking about how important this contact tracing was going to be, ...
Keeping coronavirus and OCD at bay
Consumer Corner Jun 13, 2020 0
Georgia’s COVID-19 reporting needs a major reboot
Commentary May 22, 2020 3
This crisis is hard on our mental health
Commentary May 2, 2020 0
The reopening of Georgia
May 11, 2020 0
A crucial moment for the state
Mar 24, 2020 0
Crisis in southwest Georgia
Mar 18, 2020 1
Sponsors
Georgia Health News would not be possible without our incredible sponsors! Click on the logo to find out more about our sponsors.
