Wilcox County leader identifies hotspot for COVID-19 cases within area

ABBEVILLE, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) — Wilcox County leaders are trying to understand how its 9,000 residents can carry so many cases of COVID-19.

The rural county currently has 90 cases and 10 deaths.

“We were going good for a while,” said Larry Brown, the Wilcox County EMA director. “Thought they had everything under control.”

But now, Wilcox County EMA Director Larry brown says he was wrong. He says there is an outbreak at the Crossview Care Center — a medium-sized nursing home in Pineview.

Brown says — right now — it’s the hotspot for the virus.

“That’s where a majority of the cases come from,” says the EMA Director.

According to the Georgia Department of Community Healthcare, the center had 28 staff and 53 residents test positive for COVID-19 — and of those cases, 10 residents died.

In Abbeville, two staff members from the Glenn Eagle contracted the virus, according to the Georgia Department of Community Healthcare.

Last week, the county administered nearly 200 COVID tests and there were no positive cases found, according to the county EMA.

For the last few days, besides the one death reported this week, Brown says the county has stabilized.

If you or anyone you know needs resources, contact the Wilcox County Health Department, South Central Health District, or the county’s EMA.