Georgia’s seven-day average for new cases reaches highest point in COVID-19 pandemic

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported more than 62,000 cumulative COVID-19 cases Friday, and the seven-day average for newly confirmed cases in the state has reached its highest point since the pandemic began.

The seven-day average for newly-reported COVID-19 cases is 889.43 cases per day. It is the average of the current day and six previous days of data. The average helps track changes over time, as opposed to increases or decreases seen day to day.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Cases: 62,009 (+1,097 in 24 hours). That’s the largest single-day increase since May 1. McClatchy measures new cases by subtracting the total number of infections reported at 3 p.m. from the total number of infections reported the previous day at 3 p.m. This reflects when confirmed cases are reported to the state.
  
  
• The seven-day average for newly reported COVID-19 cases is 889.43 cases per day. This is the largest that value has been since the beginning of the pandemic.
• Deaths: 2,636 (+31 deaths in 24 hours). It’s important to note that these numbers indicate when deaths are reported to the Georgia Department of Public Health. It does not reflect when these deaths occurred.
  
  
• Tests: 798,284. This number includes 134,309 antibody tests and 663,975 viral tests (+6,556 new viral tests in 24 hours). These totals don’t account for tests that are not reported through the state’s electronic lab reporting system.
  
  
• Current Hospitalizations: 937. That’s an increase of 16 patients in 24 hours. This count does not include patients who are being investigated for possible infections by health officials. The number of current hospitalizations has increased every day since June 14. Current hospitalizations are at their highest rate since May 20.
• Cases per 100,000: Echols (4232.8), Randolph (2872.37), Chattahoochee (2837.47), Terrell (2562.89) and Early (2523.16) counties have the highest coronavirus rates per 100,000 people in the state.
  
  
• The health department is not reporting how many Georgians have recovered.

For a complete county-by-county list, visit the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website.

Regional updates

• Cases in the Columbus area continue to rise. Muscogee County reported 1,146 total cases Friday (up 33 cases in 24 hours). As of June 19, 34 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Muscogee, an increase of one in 24 hours.
  
  
• Troup County reported 922 total cases, up by 59 cases in 24 hours. The New York Times reports the county is 6th nationwide for the number of new cases over the last two weeks.
• Bibb County reported 590 cases, up seven cases from Thursday. Houston County reported 481 cases, an increase of two cases.
  
  
• Gwinnett County reports the highest number of cases in the state, at 5,958.

This story was originally published June 19, 2020 at 4:23 PM.

Nick Wooten

Columbus Ledger-Enquirer

Nick Wooten is the Accountability/Investigative reporter for the Ledger-Enquirer where he is responsible for covering several topics, including Georgia politics. His work may also appear in the Macon Telegraph. Nick was given the Georgia Press Association’s 2021 Emerging Journalist award for his coverage of elections, COVID-19 and Columbus’ LGBTQ+ community. Before joining McClatchy, he worked for The (Shreveport La.) Times covering city government and investigations. He is a graduate of Mercer University in Macon, Georgia.