3:35 p.m. update

Starting next week, South Georgia Medical Center will accept inpatient admissions at its Smith Northview Hospital campus, according to an SGMC statement.

The decision will allow for 45 beds to be used for patients not infected with COVID-19 at the North Valdosta Road location, per the statement.

With the surge in coronavirus cases across the state, hospitals and health care systems have been encouraged to create more bed capacity to handle the outbreak. The hospital will continue its other clinical and support services in addition to the added beds, according to the statement.

“Given the uncertainty of future patient volumes across the region and at SGMC Main campus, the state of Georgia estimates of potential short falls in beds needed, and the ease of which these beds could be operationalized, SGMC requested and received authorization to utilize the 45 acute beds to treat non-COVID-19 patients,” said Ronnie Dean, SGMC president and chief executive officer.

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VALDOSTA – Eighty cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Lowndes County, according to the noon Friday update of the Georgia Department of Health daily status report.

The new total represents an increase of one case in the county from the 7 p.m. Thursday update and 24 added cases in a week, per the report.

Lowndes has had three deaths due to the coronavirus, according to the report.

Additionally, South Georgia Medical Center was treating 14 confirmed COVID-19 patients as of 12:30 p.m. Friday, according to its daily report.

The hospital has discharged 27 COVID-19 patients and had three patients waiting for testing results as of the same time, per the report.

10 SGMC patients have died from the coronavirus.

In Brooks County, three new deaths due to COVID-19 were reported by the South Health District. An 88-year-old woman who was hospitalized and two people, a 92-year-old woman and a 87-year-old man, who had not been hospitalized were confirmed dead, according to two district statements. All three had underlying medical conditions.

“We are saddened to learn of the passing of another resident of our district,” said William R. Grow, district health director. “Our thoughts and prayers are with this individual’s family and loved ones at this time.” 

The district announced that 15 people have died from the coronavirus in its region.

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.

The GDPH status report is updated twice a day — once at noon and once at 7 p.m. The SGMC COVID-19 report updates daily at 12:30 p.m. The VDT database is updated daily after noon.

This story was updated at 4:00 p.m. April 17.