Key points from Governor Kemp's COVID-19 briefing on April 1, 2020

On April 1st, Governor Brian P. Kemp along with the Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey, Adjutant General Tom Carden, and Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Director Homer Bryson gave a briefing on the current outbreak. Below we list some points of interest.

• On March 31st, Governor Brian P. Kemp announced a laboratory surge capacity plan to quickly increase the availability of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for COVID-19 in Georgia. This initiative leverages the collective laboratory resources under the University System of Georgia, Georgia Public Health Laboratory, and Emory University. The ramp-up of laboratory testing surge capacity begins today. Upon implementation, labs will process over 3,000 samples per day.
• As of this morning, we have 3,520 medical-surgical beds, 450 critical beds, and 1,006 ventilators available in our hospitals across the state. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, Georgia will reach peak hospital capacity on April 23– nearly three weeks from today. 
• So far, we have purchased four medical pods, which are basically steel shipping containers that have been converted to mobile units with beds and equipment. Each unit offers twenty to twenty-four beds with a nursing station to treat patients as they arrive. These will be state-owned assets that we can quickly deploy to hard-hit areas. We have submitted a request to FEMA to staff these pods using military medical providers.
• As many of you know, Dougherty County is one of the hardest hit areas in our state. To date, we have shipped necessary supplies and plan more shipments based on the needs of the Phoebe Putney system. The Department of Public Health has deployed an epidemiology team in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have also deployed two Georgia National Guard medic teams to the county. These two Guard units are assisting existing staff at Phoebe and a nearby nursing home facility on everything from administrative needs to medical treatment.
• the Georgia National Guard has identified new teams to replicate the units sent to Albany and Dougherty County at similar hot-spots across the state. And just yesterday, the Georgia Guard announced another innovative way to stop the spread of coronavirus across our state… These troops will implement infection control protocols and enhanced sanitation methods to dramatically reduce COVID-19 exposure among vulnerable residents.
• Georgia’s own Home Depot is donating millions of dollars in PPE and other products, prioritizing fulfillment of orders to hospitals, healthcare providers, and our first responders.
• I will sign an executive order today closing K-12 public schools through the rest of this school year. Online learning will continue.
• Tomorrow, I will sign a statewide shelter in place order, which will go into effect on Friday and run through April 13, 2020, in line with our public health emergency order.