Athens government questions DPH reporting on coronavirus deaths

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ATHENS, Ga. - It’s been eight days since 10 deaths were reported at one Athens nursing home. Yet the local government is still left with unanswered questions.

The mayor and commission held a virtual meeting last night with the state Department of Public Health District 10 director to find those answers.

"This issue is really eroding credibility all around," said Commissioner Jerry NeSmith.

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Leaders want answers about nursing home deaths

Leaders in Athens-Clarke County are seeking answers about deaths at an area nursing home last week

NeSmith is unsettled by the discrepancy in coronavirus deaths reported by the state Department of Public Health.

The mayor and commission say they learned of the deaths at PruittHealth Grandview from a news report and not from the DPH.

As of Wednesday, 12 deaths are reported in Clarke County. That number does not reflect those at the nursing home.

"If someone is in a hospital, it still goes by county of residence," said Stephen Goggans, interim District 10 health director of the DPH. "When hospitals report their test numbers, you have to remember that the numbers of the folks they're testing in their facility or their clinic, those people could live in any county in Georgia."

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Goggans also attributes delays in reporting to labs getting the results and the DPH vetting the data and sometimes correcting a county of residence on file.

But the local government says it wants more immediate answers.

"If we can get somebody to investigate those specific 10 deaths... we need to get those numbers straightened out because right now the Clarke County numbers are not credible to the public," NeSmith said.