April 28, 2020–11:37 a.m.
STAFF REPORTS
The State of Georgia continues to add hospital beds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state has purchased four temporary hospital units and one of them is headed to Rome, according to Georgia Governor Brian Kemp.
“Floyd Medical Center in Rome will gain six critical care beds and 14 general hospital beds,” he said.
Installation should be completed by May 6, according to Kemp.
There are currently 1,023 critical care hospital beds across the state, which is the highest number since the COVID-19 outbreak began.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, around 130,000 Georgia residents have been tested and there have been more than 100,000 negative results and Kemp is urging more Georgians to get tested.
“We have the tests, we have the physicians, we have the sites and we have the bandwidth,” he said. What we need now is for more Georgians to participate. Right now, all symptomatic Georgians can take advantage of this resource. I am calling on anyone who is experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID-19 to take us up on this offer.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the following symptoms may appear 2 to 14 days after exposure: Fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and loss of taste or smell.