ATLANTA - Georgia set a new record for the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reported in a single day as the two-week averages climb.
More than 6,000 new cases were reported by the Georgia Department of Public Health on Thursday afternoon, bringing the average number of new cases reported each day this week to over 4,000 or just over 3,400 cases each day over the last two weeks.
The GDPH reported Thursday that Georgia is approaching a milestone in the number of deaths in the state from the virus. There have been just under 10,000 confirmed and probable deaths in the state from the virus. The two-week average shows about 30 deaths a day. Georgia has the tenth highest number of deaths in the country from the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Over the last two weeks, the state has been seeing about 55 more beds being used for coronavirus patients each day, according to the GDPH data. As of Thursday, there were 2,735 patients in Georgia's hospitals. The most seen since mid-August. Hospitalizations have been trending up for about the last 20 days.
The GDPH added 43,000 new test results to its data on Thursday. The average number of tests released each day this week has been around 30,000. More than 4.6 million tests have been taken since the start of the pandemic.
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Georgia should start distributing thousands of doses of coronavirus vaccine by the end of next week, though most people will have to wait several months before they can get a shot, Gov. Brian Kemp said Tuesday.
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the commissioner of the Georgia Department of Public Health, said Georgia should receive “several hundred thousand doses” in the coming weeks.
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Vaccinating 10 million Georgia residents will likely take until summer, Toomey said. She and the governor both plan to work to persuade people that the coronavirus shots are safe.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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