A teacher in southeast Georgia says she got COVID-19 at a school-sponsored event last month. Several others who attended the event also were infected, the teacher says. And the teacher, who requested anonymity because she’s still employed by the school system, said her husband got COVID from her. She has recovered, but he “is still…
Georgia received mostly failing grades on tobacco control policies in an annual American Lung Association report. The report from the organization emphasized the issue’s impact amid the pandemic, pointing out that cigarette smokers face a higher risk of severe illness if they contract COVID-19. The “State of Tobacco Control 2021,’’ released Wednesday, calls for Georgia…
With COVID raging in Georgia, school districts across the state have faced tough decisions on how to handle instruction as the semester begins this week. Hall County schools, for example, are starting out the semester this week with virtual-only classes. But in Oconee County, also in northeast Georgia, kids are expected back in the classroom…
Georgia’s recent spike in COVID-19 cases includes a comparable rise in the number of children getting the disease. “These aren’t necessarily cases linked to a [school] setting, but rather cases among children who are in these age groups,’’ said Amber Schmidtke, who tracks Georgia COVID trends in the Daily Digest. College-aged adult and young adults have…
When Maya put paint chips in her mouth, her mother instantly knew the danger. Sarah Tuck recognized that their Savannah rental home, built 100 years ago, could contain lead. So she got Maya tested through a doctor’s office. The reading for Maya when she was about a year old was a disturbing 18 micrograms of…
Georgia has set a new record for the number of people hospitalized for COVID on a single day. The total reached 3,221 — surpassing the previous peak, 3,200, set in July — according to state Department of Public Health figures released Wednesday. Northside Hospital told GHN that its hospitals “have matched the spike we saw…
By Rebecca Grapevine Nine years ago, Georgia reported ample data to the feds on the health care quality of its Medicaid and PeachCare programs. In fact, a federal report at that time praised Georgia’s “proactive role in designing its data systems to support quality measurement.” For seven more years, Georgia continued to be near the…
The grim statistics of COVID-19 include more than just the number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths. A national report says Georgia has the highest percentage in the nation of families with children concerned about losing their housing in the next month due to income loss from the pandemic. The report from the Annie E. Casey…
By Annie Waldman and Heather Vogell This article comes from ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. On an August morning in Emanuel County in eastern Georgia, hundreds of children bounded off freshly cleaned school buses and out of their parents’ cars. They were greeted by the principal, teachers and staff at Swainsboro Middle School,…
Georgia has earned an “F’’ grade for its rising rate of preterm births, according to a newly released report. The 2020 March of Dimes Report Card, released this week, said the state’s rate of preterm births, often called premature births, climbed to 11.7 percent in 2019, continuing a steady climb from a bottom of 10.7…