Georgia confirms more than 2,500 new COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths in latest update

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 360,790 cumulative COVID-19 cases Saturday, up by more than 2,500 new cases in 24 hours.

Here are some key takeaways from the latest data:

Cases: 360,790 (including 2,595 reported Saturday). 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: 7,979 (including 24 deaths in the previous 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 331,821 total antibody tests and 3,562,682 total viral tests (including 26,857 viral tests in 24 hours). These totals don’t account for tests that are not reported through the state’s electronic lab reporting system.

Positivity rate for Georgia Saturday: 8.7%. Georgia’s overall positivity: 9.5%. The World Health Organization’s recommended test positivity rate is 5% to properly track outbreaks and locate milder cases of the disease.

Current COVID hospitalizations: 1,417. 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 by health officials for possible infection.

Total COVID hospitalizations: 31,699, an increase of 93 in 24 hours.

Hospital capacity: 81.6% of the state’s critical care beds are full as of Saturday. Not all critical-care beds in the state are filled with COVID-19 patients.

For a complete county-by-county list and additional data, 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 6,414 COVID-19 cases, an increase of 16 cases in 24 hours. The county reported 175 coronavirus-related deaths. No new deaths were reported in 24 hours.

Over the past two weeks, 4.4% of Muscogee County’s tests came back positive. Since the start of the pandemic, 9.5% of the county’s tests were positive.

▪ In Middle Georgia, Bibb County reported 6,692 cases, up 33 cases in 24 hours. The county reported 200 coronavirus-related deaths, an increase of one in 24 hours.

Over the last two weeks, 8.4% of Bibb County’s tests came back positive. Since the start of the pandemic, 14.9% of the county’s tests were positive, according to state’s data.

▪ Fulton County reports the highest number of cumulative cases in the state at 31,655.

This story was originally published October 31, 2020 at 4:31 PM with the headline "Georgia confirms more than 2,500 new COVID-19 cases and 24 deaths in latest update."