Georgia has reported more than 1,000 new COVID-19 cases in four of the last five days

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported nearly 68,000 cumulative COVID-19 cases Tuesday.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Cases: 67,675 (+1,747 in 24 hours). In four of the last five days, Georgia has reported more than 1,000 new coronavirus cases. 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.
  
  
• Georgia’s seven-day average for COVID-19 cases continues to climb. The average as of June 23 is 1,228.57 cases per day, the highest to date.
  
  
• Deaths: 2,687 (+39 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: 874,123. This number includes 142,862 antibody tests and 731,261 viral tests (+23,235 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: 1,056. That’s an increase of 56 patients in 24 hours. This count does not include patients who are being investigated for possible infection by health officials.
• The number of current COVID-19 hospitalizations has increased every day since June 14. Current hospitalizations are at their highest total since May 14. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency began publishing this data May 1.
• Cases per 100,000: Echols (4,459.56), Chattahoochee (2,949.11), Randolph (2,916.79), Terrell (2,586.51) and Calhoun (2,564.51) 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

• Muscogee County reported 1,341 total cases Tuesday (up 128 cases in 24 hours). As of June 23, 39 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Muscogee, an increase of five in 24 hours.
  
  
• Troup County reported 1,158 total cases, an increase of 131 cases since Monday. As of June 23, 29 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Troup (up one in 24 hours).
  
  
• A death was removed from Chattahoochee County, dropping it back to zero deaths. The county has 317 confirmed COVID-19 infections. No new cases were reported.
• In Middle Georgia, Bibb County reported 627 cases, up 18 cases from Monday. As of June 23, 37 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Bibb. No new deaths were reported.
• Houston County reported 519 cases, an increase of six cases in 24 hours. As of June 23, 20 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Houston. No new deaths were reported.
• Gwinnett County reports the highest number of cases in the state, at 6,636.
  
  

Editor’s note: This story has been updated after the Georgia Department of Public Health published new COVID-19 statistics at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

This story was originally published June 23, 2020 at 4:08 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.