Georgia nears 800,000 virus cases

Bryce Ethridge, The Valdosta Daily Times, Ga.
·1 min read

Feb. 18—ATLANTA — Georgia reported more than 2,200 new COVID-19 cases Thursday as the state closed in on 800,000 cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

Georgia has reported 798,785 confirmed cases and 177,947 antigen cases — an increase of 1,247 antigen cases from the previous day — since the start of the pandemic. Antigen cases show results from rapid virus tests.

The GDPH reported 104 more virus-related deaths Thursday, raising the total to 14,358, with nearly 2,045 probable deaths related to the virus.

More than 54,100 people have been hospitalized across the state due to COVID-19, according to the report, with 8,869 admitted to an ICU.

Nearly 6.9 million COVID-19 tests have been performed with an 11.2% positive rate, health officials reported.

The state has performed more than 465,000 antibody tests — which show signs of past infection — with the state reporting a 15.1% positivity rate.

Nearly 1.6 million people have received the vaccine, between Pfizer and Moderna allocations.