MACON, Ga. — Georgia recently recorded its single highest one-day tally of new confirmed COVID-19 cases and the average of new confirmed cases has been steadily increasing since late May. The number of new daily hospitalizations has risen even more sharply, whereas ventilator use has only increased slightly.
Let's start with the statewide case curve. It shows the daily tally of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Georgia.
The graph shows data from the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH).
The orange area represents the most recent 14 days of data, which the DPH warns is incomplete because of the way they collect and graph their data.
On June 8th, Georgia recorded its single highest daily tally of new confirmed cases of the virus (outside of the incomplete orange zone) with 1,081.
The 7-day average trend line of new confirmed cases has been steadily climbing since a low of about 591 new cases per day on May 25.
On June 10, the last day before the orange zone, Georgia was averaging 820 new cases per day, an increase of more than 38%.
New virus-related hospitalizations have increased as well--and at an even sharper rate.
According to the DPH, new virus-related hospitalizations rose from an average of about 63 per day on June 8 to about 95 on June 23, an increase of more than 50%. However, that's still significantly lower than figures in April, when Georgia was averaging close to 150 new hospitalizations per day.
Ventilator availability across the state has dropped slightly in June as more went into use, from an average of bout 1,970 adult ventilators available across Georgia in early June to close to 1,920 on June 23, according to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA).
However, GEMA does not specify whether all of those ventilators are being used on COVID-19 patients. It's possible--if not likely--some are being used for non-COVID patients.
It's also important to point out that, according to GEMA, 67% of the state's ventilators were still available as of June 23.
New virus-related deaths have remained fairly steady, averaging between about 20 and 40 per day since early June, according to the DPH.
That's not to discount the overall death toll by any means, though. The DPH says there have been more than 2,600 virus-related deaths in Georgia since the pandemic first appeared here.
STAY ALERT | Download our FREE app now to receive breaking news and weather alerts. You can find the app on the Apple Store and Google Play.
STAY UPDATED | Click here to subscribe to our Midday Minute newsletter and receive the latest headlines and information in your inbox every day.
Have a news tip? Email news@13wmaz.com, or visit our Facebook page.