Emory professor says "point of no return" in Georgia getting closer

ATLANTA, Ga. (CBS46) An Emory University professor is urging Governor Brian Kemp to "act now" before the state passes what he calls "the point of no return."

Dr. Carlos Del Rio tweeted on Saturday that the state is rapidly approaching a catastrophe in the state's healthcare system and Governor Kemp must "shut down" Georgia.

Del Rio says if no action is taken, the number of people contracting the virus will vastly outnumber the available beds in Georgia hospitals. He provided a chart that details the number of expected cases in the state, saying there could be nearly 300,000 hospitalizations in the state by April 24 as a result of the virus. He also says there's expected to be just 20,000 available beds in the state at that time.

Dr. Del Rio also warns that if people continue to practice good 'social distancing,' there's still expected to be as many as 84,000 hospitalizations by May 10. He says the only way to combat the crisis is a three-month shelter in place or a Wuhan-style three month lockdown.

Dr. Del Rio says if things continue as they are, the 'point of no return' to prevent a hospital overload is between March 24 and March 29. 

He also has some dire predictions in a chart that you can access here.

We need ⁦@GovKemp⁩ to act now, the point of “no return” for GA is rapidly closing. To prevent a catastrophe in the healthcare system due to #COVID19 we need for him to shut down GA now. ⁦@drmt⁩ ⁦⁦@Armstrws⁩ ⁦@colleenkraftmd⁩ https://t.co/aZEJVYcUH0

— Carlos del Rio (@CarlosdelRio7) March 21, 2020