Officials preparing Georgia state park for coronavirus patient isolation location

MORGAN COUNTY, Ga. - Georgia health officials have designated a Georgia state park as a possible location to isolate and monitor patients who could have been exposed to a new strain of the coronavirus.

In a release on Monday, the Office of Governor Brian Kemp announced that the governor and the Departments of Public Health, Public Safety, and Natural Resources have designated Hard Labor Creek State Park in Morgan County as a location that could be used to isolate any patients with COVID-19 exposure.

Officials say they are working to prepare the park for possible patients. Currently, seven emergency trailers have been installed inside the park and more materials are en route.

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According to health officials, they will be using an isolated section fo the park for emergency trailers and operations in order to separate it from the rest of the property. The Department of Public Safety will be providing security.

"There is no threat of COVID-19 exposure to Morgan County citizens," Morgan County Sheriff Robert Markley said in a statement.

Access to that area of the park is now strictly limited to official use in order to prevent any disruption of operations.

At this time, no patients are currently scheduled to be transferred to Hard Labor Creek State Park. 

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Georgia currently has confirmed five cases of the strain of coronavirus and has six other presumptive positive tests they are waiting on results from. The confirmed cases include three in Fulton County, one in Cobb County, and one in Polk County. The presumptive positive tests include one in Cherokee County, two from Fulton, two from Cobb County, and one in Gwinnett County.

Kemp previously announced the transfer to Georgia of least 34 Georgians and an undetermined number of people from the East Coast who are on board a mammoth cruise ship off the California coast that had a coronavirus outbreak. Those involved will be transferred to Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Cobb County for testing and quarantine.

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