Average number of new COVID-19 cases in Georgia jump 70% in last week
ATLANTA - Georgia has seen a 70% jump in the average number of new cases in the last week, state data shows.
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Friday afternoon, the 7-day average for positive COVID-19 tests in the state was just shy of 6,000, according to data provided by the Georgia Department of Public Health. That is a significant jump from the previous Friday which saw the same average at just over 1,800. The last time this average was this high was back in September during the middle of the delta wave.
The last week has also seen a 12% jump in the number of PCR tests administered and has seen exponential growth in the positivity rate. Friday along, the GDPH reported more than 21% of tests administered tested positive for COVID-19, a percentage not seen since January.
Hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 have also started to climb. But what is decreasing is staffed ICU beds as hospital staff undergoes health and safety protocols due to illness. Still, Georgia’s hospital staffing is in good shape compared to many harder-hit states.
Some hospitals are reporting higher than 95% of their patients with COVID-19 have not received a single dose of vaccine.
Georgia remains 46th in the percentage of those eligible to be fully vaccinated. Despite vaccinations slowly continuing to climb, only 54% of those who can be fully vaccinated are.
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