ATLANTA — There are glimmers of positive news in the latest White House Coronavirus Task Force report - the state's first under the new Biden Administration. However, Georgia still has a long way to go in gaining control over the raging COVID-19 pandemic.
In fact, it is among the top 10 worst states in almost every category for tracking the virus.
According to the report dated Jan. 24, the state's rate of new cases, hospitalizations and test positivity has fallen slightly over the last week. However, those rates - especially hospitalizations - remain highly elevated.
The only category in which Georgia saw an increase from last week was the rate of new deaths - which saw a 12 percent increase.
Data from the report also shows that Georgia ranks among the top 10 worst states for each of those categories: hospitalizations, new cases per 100,000, test positivity, and deaths per 100,000.
The state is fourth in the nation for new hospital admissions, sixth in the nation for new cases per 100,000 - only behind Arizona, South Carolina, California, Rhode Island and New York - and is eight overall for its rate of deaths per 100,000. It also ranks seventh in test positivity.
According to the report, the highest number of new cases in Georgia are coming from Gwinnett, Fulton, Cobb, and DeKalb. However, 145 of Georgia's 159 counties - down six from last week - remain in the "light red zone" or higher - which means the rate of new cases is above 101 new cases per 100,000 people.
On the vaccine front, which has been slow-going for states across the country, the White House report indicated that only 5 percent of the state's population - or 534,161 people - has received their first dose of the inoculation, with only 0.6 percent receiving the full course of the vaccine.