Georgia is starting to see the effects of Thanksgiving and other indoor gatherings on the spread of coronavirus throughout the state. As experts predicted, cases and hospitalizations are on the rise. Here are some of the details you need to know based on the most recent reports from the Georgia Department of Public Health.
The spread of COVID-19 is drastically increasing
In the last week, the seven-day average of new cases reported shot up 62% over the previous week. That is also an increase of 2.6% from the state’s previous peak back on July 24. Not only are the numbers up, they are worse than they were in the summer.
Below is a map showing that most counties are seeing a large increase in cases.
The positivity rate is going up:
For those who want to believe that “increased testing means increased positive tests” the state of Georgia tracks the positivity rate. The positivity rate would stay the same if more tests meant more cases. That hasn’t been the case. In fact, the positivity rate is up. For those who need a quick study, the positivity rate is the percentage of tests that come back positive.
On Nov. 30 the positivity rate was 9.2%. On Dec. 7, that number was 12%.
About 2,500 people are hospitalized for coronavirus every day:
Despite rumors to the contrary, COVID-19 is not harmless. Hospitalizations due to the virus are also on the rise. That means more people are having more severe infections. The daily hospitalizations have increased 13% in the last week. There are about 2,502 people hospitalized for COVID-19 every day in Georgia. In positive news, hospitalizations are still down 22% from their peak on July 30.
Emergency Department visits for coronavirus are outpacing flu hospitalizations
The number of emergency room visits for coronavirus increased 6% in the last week. The number of emergency room visits for the flu increased just 2%.
Below is comparison showing the increase in emergency visits for coronavirus compared to that of the flu.
