Staff report |
The number of COVID-19 cases in Georgia is at 3,032 with 102 deaths on Tuesday morning, March 31, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.There are 17 cases in Richmond County and 14 in Columbia County, according to the Department of Public Health. So far, there are no deaths due to the novel coronavirus in either county. AU Health reported on March 30 that has received 78 positive cases and 1,509 negative cases. Those are regional figures. Drive-thru testing continues at AU's Christenberry Fieldhouse.Fulton County has the most cases in Georgia with 503 positives and 16 deaths.Augusta University resumed instruction on Monday, March 30, after a two-week hiatus so that professors could retool their courses to be taught online. To ensure social distancing, classes will be held virtually for the remainder of the spring semester, as well as the summer terms. A few courses on the Health Sciences campus are still being done face to face or with simulations. Virtual instruction at AU began Monday morning, although classes that were online already did not take two weeks off. All campus residence halls have been closed for the remainder of the semester.Also on Monday, the Augusta National Golf Club gave Augusta University Health System $1 million to help with coronavirus medical relief efforts.“By taking this sort of leadership role, using their precious resources and the resources of their members to support the community of Augusta, there is no question that through the generosity of Augusta National Golf Club in collaboration with the community foundation that many, many lives will be saved,” said AU President Brooks Keel at a press conference.Augusta National donated another $1 million to help charitable organizations in the CSRA.The Masters was scheduled to be held next week, but it has been postponed. Augusta National hopes to play the major golf tournament later in the year. The university will still hold spring break during the week of April 6-10 and resume the finish of the semester on Monday, April 13.