MACON, Ga. — Georgia's COVID-19 case count started to rise in mid-June and it hasn't stopped since.
Right before the state's two-week preliminary data window, Georgia averaged 1,361 new cases a day. Within about a week, that almost doubled to 2,441.
The state is still collecting data from the time in the preliminary window, so that number is still likely to go up. However, it is already 10x higher than it was at the low point in mid-June.
The CDC's latest report says the Delta variant now makes up about 40% of new cases in Georgia.
While numbers are still nowhere near the peak in January, they're more than half of the peak last July when the state topped out at 4,678 new cases a day.
In Bibb County, numbers climbed from an average of three cases up to 50 new cases a day in the last month. That's nearly a 1/3 of where the county stood at the highest point in January.
Houston County sits around the same level, averaging 47 new cases a day. That is compared to two at the low point in mid-June. Houston is seeing nearly as many cases as the peak in July 2020 when they averaged 55 new cases a day.
Almost every Central Georgia county is seeing a similar trend.
Meanwhile, hospitalizations doubled in just the last week, inching closer to 100 new patients a day on average. That's more than 3x higher than at the start of July.
Just for comparison, hospitalizations hit above 300 a day at the high point in January.
However, deaths tied to the virus continue to reach new lows. Right now, Georgia is averaging about four deaths a day. Numbers are 10x higher than during the shelter-in-place order in April 2020.
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