Georgia reports more than 1,700 new COVID-19 cases as current hospitalizations keep rising

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported nearly 69,000 cumulative COVID-19 cases Wednesday.

Here are some key takeaways:

• Cases: 69,381 (+1,706 in 24 hours). In five of the last six 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 24 is 1,335.86 cases per day, the highest to date.
  
  
• Deaths: 2,698 (+11 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: 886,584. This number includes 143,350 antibody tests and 743,234 viral tests (+11,973 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: 1,124. That’s an increase of 68 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 12, but below the current high of 1,500 reported current hospitalizations on May 1. The Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency began publishing this data May 1.
• Cases per 100,000: Echols (4,459.56), Chattahoochee (3,209.6), Randolph (2,931.6), Terrell (2,586.51) and Hancock (2,550.96) 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 1,392 total cases Wednesday (up 51 cases in 24 hours). As of June 24, 39 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Muscogee. No new deaths were reported.
  
  
• Troup County reported 1,209 total cases, an increase of 51 cases since Tuesday. As of June 24, 29 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Troup. No new deaths were reported.
  
  
• Chattahoochee County reported 345 COVID-19 cases, up 28 cases in 24 hours.
• In Middle Georgia, Bibb County reported 644 cases, up 17 cases from Tuesday. As of June 24, 38 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Bibb, an increase of one in 24 hours.
• Houston County reported 533 cases, an increase of 14 cases in 24 hours. As of June 24, 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 7,036.
  
  

This story was originally published June 24, 2020 at 3:56 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.