Muscogee County coronavirus cases spike by nearly 40 in one day. Here’s a breakdown.
Coronavirus cases reported in Muscogee County jumped from 56 at noon to 94 at 7 p.m. Wednesday, according to data from Georgia’s Department of Health.
Out of the 158 counties in Georgia reporting at least one coronavirus case, Muscogee now ranks no. 22.
The only county with more cases in our area is Sumter, about 60 miles south of Columbus. It reported 181 cases as of 7 p.m. Wednesday.
The 18-county area surrounding Columbus now has nearly 600 coronavirus cases combined.
DPH officials said Tuesday that Georgians should expect to see a sharp rise in cases due to increased test collection and processing.
MercyMed of Columbus is one of the local organizations providing tests daily through a drive-thru service. This weekend the organization broadened that effort and tested over 1,200 residents, both local and from Alabama, in a partnership with Cascade Hills Church, according to WRBL.
On Thursday, West Central Health District spokesperson Pamela Kirkland told the Ledger-Enquirer it was possible the spike correlated with those test results coming back from labs, but she did not know definitively.
Muscogee County saw a steady increase in cases over recent days, but this marks the largest single jump in one day to date.
Here’s a look at Muscogee numbers according to the 7 p.m. DPH updates over the last week:
- April 7: 53
- April 6: 47
- April 5: 37
- April 4: 35
- April 3: 31
- April 2: 26
- April 1: 22
In comparing counties around the state between 150,000 and 205,000 residents, here are the trends. Population estimates come from data provided by the state of Georgia as of July 1, 2019:
- Bibb: 153,159 residents; 51 reported coronavirus cases
- Hall: 204,441; 234
- Houston: 157,863; 99
- Muscogee: 195,769; 94
- Paulding: 168,667; 67
- Richmond: 202,518; 79
This story was originally published April 8, 2020 at 7:47 PM.
