Georgia reports nearly 2,900 COVID cases and 69 new deaths in 24 hours. Here’s more:
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 241,677 cumulative COVID-19 cases Tuesday, up by more than 2,873 new cases in 24 hours.
Here are some key takeaways from the latest data:
Cases: 241,677 (+2,873 reported today). The number of new cases reported in a day may not match the difference in total cases over a 24-hour period. This occurs because previously reported cases may be removed as duplicate reports are corrected. An older confirmed case may also be reclassified as additional information is collected during an investigation.
Deaths: 4,794 (+69 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 258,672 total antibody tests and 2,060,319 total viral tests (+30,617 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 COVID hospitalizations: 2,596. That’s a decrease of 30 patients in 24 hours. 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 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reports Georgia had 3,579 current hospital patients in an inpatient bed with confirmed or suspected coronavirus infections as of Aug. 16. Representatives for the Georgia Department of Public Health previously said that federal data includes some long-term acute care and rehabilitation facilities, while state data is only from acute care hospitals.
Total COVID hospitalizations: 22,429, an increase of 296 in 24 hours.
Hospital capacity: As of Monday, 82% of the state’s critical care beds are full. Not all critical care beds in the state are filled with COVID-19 patients. Some regions have less than 10 critical care beds available. Region H, which includes some Middle Georgia counties such as Baldwin, Laurens and Twiggs, has three critical care beds left.
Cases per 100,000: Chattahoochee (7,637.92), Echols (5,694.13), Stewart (4,486.87), Appling (4,385.54) and Atkins (4,333.73) counties have the highest coronavirus rates per 100,000 people in the state.
For a complete county-by-county list, visit the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website. The health department is not reporting how many Georgians have recovered
Regional update
▪ Muscogee County reported 5,136 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 44 cases in 24 hours. The county reported 113 coronavirus-related deaths, an increase of three in 24 hours. Over the last two weeks, 10.3% of Muscogee County’s tests came back positive. Since the start of the pandemic, 11.6% of the county’s tests were positive. It’s unclear how many total tests were performed on Muscogee County residents.
▪ In Middle Georgia, Bibb County reported 4,262 cases, up 128 cases in 24 hours. The county reported 85 coronavirus-related deaths, an increase of one in 24 hours. Over the last two weeks, 16.3% of Bibb County’s tests came back positive. Since the start of the pandemic, 14.8% of the county’s tests were positive. It’s unclear how many tests were performed.
▪ The World Health Organization’s recommended test positivity percentage is 5% to properly track outbreaks and locate milder cases of the disease.
▪ Fulton County reports the highest number of cumulative cases in the state at 22,484.
New updates to Georgia’s COVID-19 data website
The Georgia Department of Public Health has updated its coronavirus data website. Some of the changes include:
Map viewing. Users can view cases, testing or deaths. Then, use the drop-down menu to choose “cumulative Cases,” “Cases per 100K,” ”Deaths,” “Deaths per 100K,” “% Positive,” or data for the last two weeks. Other information such as hospitalizations and case rates are available by hovering or clicking on the map. Historic maps are also now available.
- Two maps have been added to show the percentage of positive viral coronavirus tests by county. One shows the percentage of positive viral tests reported through the state’s electronic system by county during the last two weeks. Another shows the overall percentage of positive tests reported through the state’s electronic system by county.
- The COVID-19 “Over Time” chart also now includes the total number of tests performed and the percentage of positive tests.
- A link has been added to access Georgia hospital capacity and current COVID-19 hospitalization data: https://covid-hub.gio.georgia.gov/#hospital
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 3:57 PM.