MACON, Ga. — Georgia is now averaging almost 1.5x as many new COVID-19 cases a day compared to the previous peak in mid-July.
In mid-April (at the time of the lockdown), Georgia topped out an average of 783 new cases a day. The state reached levels 5.5x that in July, but reversed course and got it down to just under 1,200 new cases a day by the end of September.
That's when cases started to climb again and have not stopped since.
Just inside the state's preliminary data window on January 8, the state averaged just shy of 6,600 new COVID-19 cases a day.
Over the summer cases climbed quickly, but the rise only lasted about 64 days. In that time, the state added over 116,000 new cases.
Right now, Georgia has seen cases climb for more than 100 days and added almost 3x as many new cases in that time.
Georgia also recorded its highest daily case count for the entire pandemic on January 4, adding more than 9,000 new cases that day.
Some Central Georgia counties are also showing their highest case counts since the start of the pandemic. Houston County, for example, averaged nine cases a day at the start of October and reached levels almost 11x higher than that by the first day of 2021.
Bibb County's case count continues to climb even within the state's preliminary data window, reaching almost 89 cases a day. That is not a record, but these numbers keep inching closer and closer to the county's highest average of 112 in July.
Georgia is starting to see a small drop in new COVID-19 patients at hospitals. Last week, the state recorded its highest average in new patients for the entire pandemic at 308 a day. That has dropped slightly now to 285 a day.
Like in the case curve, hospitals have been treating more and more patients over a longer stretch of time compared to the previous peak in July.
Meanwhile, Georgia is also seeing more people die from the virus.
Right before the state's preliminary data window, the virus killed an average of almost 45 Georgians a day. That now surpasses the initial surge in the spring and is more than half of the highest point in August when the death toll averaged 75 a day.
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