The Latest Covid-19 Information-Hospital Updating Visitation Policies

Beginning Wednesday, Stephens County Hospital is updating some of the policies for visitation in the hospital. Patients will be allowed 1 support person for:

– Outpatient Surgery

– Outpatient Infusions

– ER Visits

– Inpatient admissions (with the exception of patients being treated and testing positive for COVID-19)

– End of life discussions

– Labor and Delivery

– All individuals will be screened for temperature upon entry to the hospital. Anyone with a temperature of 100.3 or who is sick will not be allowed to be a patient’s support person in the hospital.

Tuesday’s report from the Georgia Department of Public Health has 412 total cases of COVID-19 in Stephens County.

As of Tuesday, Stephens County has had six deaths due to complications from COVID-19.

The Department of Public Health is reporting that Habersham County now has 42 fatalities due to the virus and 876 positive cases of the virus.

Locally, Stephens County Hospital and its facilities have tested 3,775 individuals for the virus.

Of those, 670 tests have come back positive with 548 patients receiving positive results, 3,062 received negative results, and 43 individuals are still awaiting their results.

Stephens County Hospital Chief Executive Officer Mike Hester says the hospital currently has five patients hospitalized with confirmed cases of COVID-19, and one awaiting results.

In other neighboring counties, Franklin County is up to 300 cases and three deaths, Banks County has a total of 191 cases and three deaths, Rabun County has 125 cases and three deaths, and Hart County has 165 cases.

Across the state of Georgia, the Department of Public Health is reporting a total of 148,988 cases, of those, 15,494 have been hospitalized and 3,254 have died from complications of the virus.