Georgia Coastal Health District

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) is increasing its workforce to expand contact tracing for COVID-19 in Georgia. Contact tracing is used to identify and mitigate hotspots of infection to help prevent further spread of the virus.

Currently, about 250 contact tracers are deployed throughout the state. To date, more than 3,800 individuals testing positive for COVID-19 have been contacted and nearly 13,000 contacts identified.

In partnership with the CDC Foundation, a deployment coordinator and a training and learning coordinator have joined DPH’s COVID-19 response team. Together these individuals will oversee the training and deployment of hundreds of contact tracers being hired by the Department. They will work closely with the 18 public health districts to ensure operational issues and staffing needs are addressed, and that performance metrics established by DPH and district leadership are met.

DPH’s goal is to have over 1,000 contact tracers within weeks to strengthen its contact tracing efforts. Training is underway for 200 new contact tracers and 70 medical students and M.P.H. candidates who joined DPH in the past two weeks.

Along with the additional contact tracers, DPH is introducing a new online monitoring tool developed by Google/MTX to make contact tracing more efficient. Once a COVID-19 case is identified, public health staff work with that individual to help them recall everyone they have had close contact with and where they went while they may have been infectious. Contacts identified during this interview will be called by trained DPH staff indicating that they have been exposed to COVID-19 and asking them to enroll in DPH symptom monitoring and informing them that they must self-quarantine for 14 days after the exposure.

The web-based portal allows identified contacts to easily answer questions about their health and their symptoms related to COVID-19. If the contact reports symptoms, the system will prompt the individual to call 911 if they are in a medical emergency or to consult with their healthcare provider if they are sick and need medical care. Individuals with mild symptoms who do not need medical care will then be provided information on how to schedule COVID-19 testing.

Contacts will receive a daily text message for 14 days reminding them to report if they have symptoms through the monitoring tool, and they will also receive information about what to do if they are or become sick. Individuals who do not report daily will be contacted by DPH. For people who do not wish to use the online system or receive texts, they can call DPH directly to report their symptoms.

Confidentiality is critical to the success of contact tracing. Contact tracing in Georgia is 100% confidential – the identity of the person who tests positive and the information on those who might have been exposed will not be shared. Georgia’s contact tracing does not use GPS or Bluetooth technology to track movements. The monitoring tool does not collect any data other than what is entered by the contact.

The Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) has reached its goal of testing 100,000 individuals in 10 days. More than 108,000 tests were processed since Commissioner Kathleen E. Toomey, M.D., M.P.H, set the DPH goal last week.

“This is an important benchmark for Georgia as we work to stop the spread of COVID-19 in the state,” said Toomey. “Increased testing is critical to understanding where there are hotspots of infection and how best to mitigate them.”

Effective immediately, testing is available to all Georgians who request it, whether they have symptoms or not. There are more than 65 specimen point of collection sites (SPOC) throughout the state, with an additional 30 mobile SPOCs – locations and hours vary daily.

Individuals wanting to be tested can contact any Georgia public health department to schedule an appointment at a SPOC location convenient to them. For phone numbers and more testing information, visit our COVID-19 Testing Page.

The Coastal Health District has scheduled additional COVID-19 testing events in several locations throughout the district. The schedule is posted after the photo below, and is subject to change based on the supply of testing kits.

The first “pop-up” testing events were held May 5th in Camden and McIntosh Counties. Each event lasted three hours, and nearly 300 specimens were collected between the two sites.

COVID-19 testing through the Coastal Health District is free and anyone who wants a test can be tested, even if they have no symptoms. No appointment is needed for these mobile testing sites.

Call the Coastal Health District’s COVID-19 Testing Call Center at 1-912-230-9744 with questions. The center takes calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The existing specimen collection sites in Savannah, Richmond Hill, and Brunswick will continue to serve clients from all areas by appointment only. Click here for more information about the Coastal Health District COVID-19 Testing Program.

Upcoming Mobile Testing Site Events

Note: Schedule is subject to change based on the supply of testing kits.

Check here for upcoming Testing Site Events.

Atlanta – Governor Brian P. Kemp, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) urge all Georgians to continue to follow safe daily habits to reduce our risk of exposure to COVID-19 and keep the virus from spreading. Wear a face covering in public settings, practice social distancing, and wash your hands frequently.

A cloth face covering should be worn whenever people are in a community setting where social distancing may be difficult such as in the grocery store or picking up food at a restaurant or riding public transportation, and especially in areas of widespread community transmission of COVID-19. Cloth face coverings help slow the spread of the virus and help people who may be infected and not know it from transmitting it to others. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has easy to follow instructions on how to make a low-cost cloth face covering.

Cloth face coverings should allow for breathing without restriction, cover the nose and mouth and be laundered and machine dried after use.

Cloth face coverings should not be placed on children under the age of 2, or anyone who has trouble breathing, or is unconscious or otherwise unable to remove the mask without assistance.

The use of cloth face coverings does not take the place of social distancing. Stay at least 6 feet from other people, do not gather in groups, stay out of crowded places and avoid mass gatherings.

Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer (at least 60% alcohol) when soap and water are not readily available. Practice good health hygiene covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

For more information about COVID-19 visit https://dph.georgia.gov/novelcoronavirus or https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html.

The Coastal Health District is expanding its COVID-19 testing program, now offering appointments on Sunday afternoons at its drive-through specimen collection sites in Savannah and Brunswick. Appointments are available 7 days a week.

You do need an appointment for testing, but the process is simple – just call the Coastal Health District COVID-19 Testing Call Center for a brief telephone screening. If you meet the criteria, you’ll be referred for a test, and can often get an appointment the same day.

The Testing Call Center number is 1-912-230-9744, and the center takes calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The criteria for COVID-19 testing was recently broadened, and now most people will qualify for a free test through the health department. Anyone with symptoms can be tested, and symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell. Many people without symptoms can also be tested based on where they live or work.

To adequately staff the specimen collection site in Savannah, the Health Department will shift most clinical services from two locations in Chatham County to one. The midtown clinic at 1602 Drayton Street will temporarily discontinue general clinic services and immunizations, and those appointments will be shifted to the clinic at 1395 Eisenhower Drive. The clinic on Eisenhower Drive is located on an established bus route with Chatham Area Transit for individuals without transportation.

All Health Department services are currently by appointment only. If you need an appointment for something other than COVID-19 testing call your local county health department. Click here to access contact information for all counties.

The Coastal Health District will offer free COVID-19 testing closer to home for residents in some rural areas of coastal Georgia. A mobile specimen collection center will visit the following locations for one-day testing opportunities:

• Tuesday, May 5, 8:30-11:30 am. at Cornelia Jackson Memorial Park, 201 15th Street in Woodbine
• Tuesday, May 5, 1-4 p.m. at the McIntosh County Health Dept. at 1335 Hwy 57 in Townsend
• Thursday, May 7, 8:30-11:30 a.m. at the Shuman Gym Parking Lot at James Brown Park, 800 Tupelo Trail in Hinesville
• Thursday, May 7, 1-4 p.m. in the Smiley Elementary School parking lot, 1530 Georgia Hwy 57 in Ludowici
• Friday, May 8, 10 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. at the Effingham County Public Library parking lot at 810 Georgia Hwy 119 in Springfield

COVID-19 testing through the Coastal Health District is free and most people will qualify for a test. It takes about 5 minutes to swab your nose for the test, and results are available in a few days. No appointment is needed for these mobile testing sites.

Call the Coastal Health District’s COVID-19 Testing Call Center at 1-912-230-9744 with questions. The center takes calls Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. – 7 p.m., and Saturday from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.

The existing specimen collection sites in Savannah and Brunswick will continue to serve clients from all areas by appointment only. Click here for more information about testing for COVID-19 through the Coastal Health District.