GA Reports More Than 5K Coronavirus Cases, Sets Single-Day Record
ATLANTA, GA — Georgia set a one-day record Friday when it reported 5,023 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, marking the first time since the pandemic began that the daily total exceeded 5,000. The previous record, set on July 24 at the peak of the summer surge, was 4,782.
The single-day total increased Georgia’s seven-day moving average of new coronavirus infections to 3,189.4. The last time that moving average was higher was on Aug. 14, as the summer surge was subsiding.
Perhaps most concerning is the 1,578 antigen-positive cases — reported separately on Friday — that aren’t included among confirmed cases. Together, confirmed cases and the slightly less reliable antigen positive cases reported on Friday add up to 6,601 total coronavirus infections reported in one day.
Also on Friday, Vice President Mike Pence visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta on his way to a campaign rally in Savannah. While at the CDC, he offered hope that approval of the new vaccine was just around the corner.
“We are … maybe just a week and a half away from what will be the likely approval of the first coronavirus vaccine,” Pence said, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We have gone at a record pace, but we have cut no corners,” Pence added.
GEORGIA CORONAVIRUS NUMBERS FOR DEC. 4, 2020
The Georgia Department of Public Health in Atlanta reported a total of 438,300 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 2:50 p.m. Friday, Dec. 4. According to the health department’s website, that includes 5,023 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 over the last 24 hours. In addition, Georgia reported 1,578 new antigen-positive cases over the last 24 hours, which are considered to be probable cases of COVID-19.
Georgia has reported 8,922 deaths so far from COVID-19, with 43 more confirmed deaths recorded in the last 24 hours. Georgia also reported 803 probable deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began. These probable deaths include fatalities with indirect evidence of COVID-19.
Georgia reported 35,783 hospitalizations — 245 more than the day before — and 6,599 admissions so far to intensive-care units. The percentage of ICU beds in use statewide dropped to 84.1 percent of capacity, but not all of these beds are being used by COVID-19 patients. About 31 percent of total ventilators available in Georgia are currently in use.
No information is available from Georgia about how many patients have recovered.
Counties in or near metro Atlanta and other metropolitan areas continue to have the highest number of COVID-19 positives, with Fulton County still in the lead. Nine the top 10 counties — seven in metro Atlanta, one in Augusta and one in Dalton — posted triple-digit increases. These statistics do not include antigen-positive cases.
Fulton County: 39,001 cases — 507 new
Gwinnett County: 38,434 cases — 559 new
Cobb County: 27,602 cases — 370 new
DeKalb County: 27,145 cases — 410 new
Hall County: 12,967 cases — 165 new
Chatham County: 10,868 — 44 new
Clayton County: 10,213 — 161 new
Richmond County: 9,897 — 108 new
Cherokee County: 9,604 — 128 new
Whitfield County: 8,044 — 159 new
Counties in or near metro Atlanta also continue to have the most deaths from COVID-19.
Fulton County: 677 deaths — 2 new
Gwinnett County: 510 deaths — 4 new
Cobb County: 502 deaths — 1 new
DeKalb County: 445 deaths — 1 new
Bibb County: 223 deaths — 3 new
Chatham County: 203 deaths
Hall County: 199 deaths
Dougherty County: 199 deaths
Richmond County: 197 deaths
Clayton County: 197 deaths
All Georgia statistics are available on the state's COVID-19 website.
Globally, more than 65 million people have tested positive for COVID-19, and more than 1.5 million people have died from it, Johns Hopkins University reported Friday.
In the United States, more than 14 million people have been infected and more than 278,000 people have died from COVID-19 as of Friday. The U.S. has only about 4 percent of the world's population but more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country.
RELATED: Deaths From Coronavirus Taking Place At Almost 2 Per Minute
This article originally appeared on the Loganville-Grayson Patch
