Source: South Georgia Medical Center

VALDOSTA – Seven additional cases of COVID-19 were confirmed Wednesday in Lowndes County, according to the 3 p.m. update of the Georgia Department of Public Heath daily status report.

The county has had 326 cases of the coronavirus, according to the report which is now updated once daily at 3 p.m.

New coronavirus cases were reported Tuesday, including an inmate at the Valdosta Transitional Center, a minimum-level security facility that helps male felons re-enter civilian life through work release programs, and an employee at the Publix grocery store on 1741 Gornto Road.

Deaths in Lowndes have remained static for more than a month with the most recent confirmed local death April 23. Four Lowndes residents have died since the outbreak of coronavirus, according to the health department report.

In the South Health District, nearly 1,100 residents have contracted COVID-19 and 5,079 COVID-19 tests have been performed throughout its 10 counties, according to the 10 a.m. Wednesday update of the district COVID-19 website.

The GDPH publishes the number of hospitalizations of each county’s residents. Three more Lowndes residents have been hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 53 being hospitalized since the start of the outbreak, according to the report.

The additional information should not be confused with the hospitalization numbers published daily by South Georgia Medical Center. Not all SGMC patients are Lowndes County residents and some patients who have been transferred from other regional hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19, according to past reports.

SGMC was treating seven confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to its 12:30 p.m. Wednesday daily report.

The hospital had discharged 79 COVID-19 patients and had five patients waiting for testing results, according to the report. 

SGMC reported an additional death due to the coronavirus today to bring the total to 16. COVID-19 deaths at SGMC had remained static since May 23. Again, not all SGMC patients are Lowndes County residents.

For more data on Lowndes and the surrounding counties, The Valdosta Daily Times has created a database to track COVID-19 across the South Health District.

To reach the database, click the link here.