No Columbus-area county reported more than 9 new COVID-19 cases Friday
None of the 18 Columbus-area counties tracked by the Ledger-Enquirer reported more than 9 new COVID-19 cases Friday, as state health officials confirmed more than 1,300 new infections and 45 deaths statewide.
Muscogee County has not reported a COVID-19 death since Tuesday as many pandemic data points improve following a summer coronavirus surge.
Here’s a breakdown of the latest state and local data:
Muscogee and local counties case breakdowns
On Friday, nine new cases and no new deaths were reported for Muscogee County. Since the start of the pandemic, 6,079 coronavirus cases and 170 deaths have been confirmed in Columbus. A COVID-19 death has not been reported in Muscogee County since Sept. 29.
Muscogee reported 191 new viral tests Friday. Columbus’ test positivity rate for the past two weeks is 5.5%. Since the start of the pandemic, 10.5% of Muscogee County’s tests have been positive.
According to data from the Georgia Geospatial Information Office, adults ages 25 to 34 account for 1,251 (about 21%) of Columbus’ cases. That is the largest portion. Female residents account for 3,441 (57%) of the county’s cases. Black residents account for 2,601 (43%) of Columbus’ cases, while the race for 1,638 (27%) of cases is unknown.
People ages 65-74 account for the largest portion of COVID-19 deaths in Muscogee County — 51 deaths (30%). Female residents account for the largest portion of deaths with 90 (53%) overall. Black residents account for 85 (50%) of the county’s coronavirus deaths.
Over the last two weeks, Muscogee County reported 124 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people. Current coronavirus orders from Gov. Brian Kemp allow local governments to implement mask mandates if their county reports 100 or more cases per 100,000 people over a 14-day period.
Counties near Columbus also confirmed newly reported cases. Crisp County, about two hours southeast of Muscogee County, reported eight new cases.
Georgia’s West-Central Health District covers 16 counties: Chattahoochee, Clay, Crisp, Dooly, Harris, Macon, Marion, Muscogee, Quitman, Randolph, Schley, Stewart, Sumter, Talbot, Taylor and Webster.
Troup and Meriwether counties are not in the West-Central Health District but because of their proximity to Columbus, the Ledger-Enquirer tracks those numbers as well. Troup County reported 4 new cases Friday.
Georgia update
Cases: 320,634 (+1,337 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: 7,106 (+45 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 304,551 total antibody tests and 2,970,013 total viral tests (+15,621 viral tests in 24 hours). These totals don’t account for tests that are not reported through the state’s electronic lab reporting system.
Over the last two weeks, Georgia reported an average of 185 daily coronavirus tests per 100,000 residents. That’s 49% of the state’s testing target, according to reporting by the New York Times and estimates made by the Harvard Global Health Institute.
Current COVID-19 hospitalizations: 1,270 a decrease of 37.
This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 4:01 PM.