Coronavirus

Almost 3,200 new COVID cases reported in Georgia on Saturday

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported more than 114,000 cumulative COVID-19 cases Saturday, adding almost 3,200 reported new cases.

Here are some key takeaways from the latest data:

  • Cases: 114,401 (+3,190 in 24 hours). 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.
  • Deaths: 2,996 (+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: Georgia reported 180,366 total antibody tests and 1,064,873 total viral tests (+18,525 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: 2,443 reported on July 10, a new record. That’s an increase of 121 patients in 24 hours. Current hospitalization numbers are reported by Georgia hospitals to the Department of Public Health. The count includes any patient in a Georgia hospital who has tested positive for COVID-19 at the time of the report. This count does not include patients who are being investigated for possible infection by health officials. The Associated Press reported Thursday that 82% of Georgia’s critical care beds are now in use. As of Thursday, some hospital regions in Georgia, like Columbus’ Region I, had less than 10 critical care beds are available, according to the state’s emergency management agency. Not every patient in a critical care bed has COVID-19. Friday’s report has yet to be published.

  • Total COVID-19 hospitalizations as of July 11: 13,205, an increase of 268 in 24 hours.
  • Cases per 100,000: Echols (4,837.49), Chattahoochee (4,307), Stewart (3,458) Randolph (3,139) and Early (3,016) counties have the highest coronavirus rates per 100,000 people in the state.

The health department is not reporting how many Georgians have recovered.

Even as the testing capacity continues to increase, Georgia is still not meeting testing benchmarks set by health researchers. FiveThirtyEight, a digital news website known for data reporting, reports Georgia conducted an average of 12,278 COVID-19 tests per day in June, 81% short of Harvard Global Health Institute’s goal for the state of 64,048. Only South Carolina, Alabama, Arizona and Mississippi were further from meeting the goal. Goals differ for each state.

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

Regional Update

  • Muscogee County reported 2,698 cases, up 70 from Friday. On Friday, Muscogee reported the largest single-day increase since the start of the pandemic, an increase of 190 in 24 hours. One new death was reported Saturday, bringing the total of coronavirus-related deaths to 56.

  • In Middle Georgia, Bibb County reported 1,663 cases, up 41 cases in 24 hours. As of July 11, 42 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed in Bibb, with one additional death reported in the past 24 hours.

  • Houston County reported 966 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 28 cases in 24-hours. As of July 11, 30 coronavirus-related deaths have been confirmed.
  • Gwinnett County reports the highest number of cases in the state at 11,074.

This story was originally published July 11, 2020 at 3:19 PM with the headline "Almost 3,200 new COVID cases reported in Georgia on Saturday."

Follow More of Our Reporting on Coronavirus in Georgia

Caleb Slinkard
The Telegraph
Caleb Slinkard is the Georgia Editor for McClatchy, running the Macon Telegraph and Columbus Ledger-Enquirer newsrooms. Previously, he led newsrooms for the El Dorado (Ark.) News-Times, the Norman (Okla.) Transcript and the Greenville (Texas) Herald-Banner. He’s a graduate of Texas A&M University-Commerce and has taught journalism classes and practicums at the University of Oklahoma and Mercer University.
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