MACON, Ga. — Right now, COVID-19 cases are climbing about 4x faster than during the surge Georgia saw around the holidays in 2020.
Right before the state's two-week preliminary data window, Georgia averaged just over 5,500 new cases a day. Within the window, the state already reached its highest average yet at nearly 12,300.
Georgia also had its highest single-day case increase with almost 20,700 people reporting symptoms three days after Christmas.
Between Christmas and New Year's Eve 2021, the state added almost 66,000 new cases compared to just over 61,000 during the same week in 2020.
These latest numbers fall within the preliminary window, so they will likely go even higher as more test results come in.
In Bibb County, cases are surging as well, but haven't surpassed previous surges yet. At the highest point within the preliminary window, Bibb averaged 156 new cases a day. The day before, Bibb recorded its highest daily case increase with 300 people getting sick. However... the seven-day average is still lower than during the surge Bibb saw in August when the county topped out at an average of 209 new cases a day.
Houston County, at the highest point within the preliminary window, is averaging about 157 new cases a day. That's not as high as the peak in late August at nearly 230 new cases a day.
Hospitalizations are also up across the state, averaging about 300 new patients a day. That number doubled within the past two weeks. But when you compare this to the number of new cases, the ratio is much less than we've seen in the past.
In Jan. 2021, Georgia had its highest daily hospitalization average of 308, but compared to the average new cases at the time, the ratio was one person hospitalized for every 30 new cases. Looking at Georgia's highest numbers right now, the ratio is only one hospitalization for every 47 cases.
Even with the spike in cases, deaths tied to the virus continue to drop. On average, seven Georgians died a day right before the preliminary window.