Georgia Governor Brian P Kemp today announced that Georgia reached its lowest number of COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized since hospitals started reporting data to the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency on April 8.
According to the Governor’s office, at 986 COVID-19 positive patients currently hospitalized, Georgia has seen an approximate 12% decrease over the last week with 1,125 patients hospitalized on May 12, and a 34% decrease from 1,500 patients hospitalized on May 1.
“Our hospitalization numbers continue to show encouraging signs in our fight against COVID-19, but we must remain vigilant in our efforts to combat this virus,” said Governor Kemp. “I continue to ask Georgians to practice social distancing, follow the advice of public health officials, and protect the elderly and medically fragile.”
Why it Matters: The primary purpose of lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders is to flatten the curve so that hospital resources aren’t overwhelmed. If Georgia is experiencing its fewest number of currently hospitalized COVID-19 patients, that would indicate that the state’s hospital resources are not stressed and can handle those most impacted by the virus.
As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, Georgia had 38,721 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 7,027 total hospitalizations since the virus began. A total of 1,664 people have died from COVID-19 in Georgia.