x
Breaking News
More () »

Georgia again breaks record for highest single-day for new COVID cases during pandemic

The previous record was set on Wednesday with 19,124, including both PCR and antigen tests.

ATLANTA — On Thursday, the state of Georgia set a new single-day record for new COVID cases since the start of the pandemic.  

According to data from Georgia's Department of Public Health, there are 24,420 new COVID cases on Dec. 30, including both PCR and antigen tests.

The previous record was set on Wednesday with 19,124, including both PCR and antigen tests.

Credit: GA DPH

Georgia is now averaging more than 15,000 cases a day, shattering previous records for single day and weekly averages, making this by far the biggest surge of the pandemic along with the fastest.

For some perspective, cases are up 1,533% since Thanksgiving.

Credit: GA DPH

Georgia is also setting records for positivity rate. The CDC wants to see that number at 5%; however, the state is currently averaging 31%. In the metro Atlanta area, that number is 48%, meaning nearly half of all COVID tests are coming back positive.

Hospitalizations are skyrocketing as well, up 225% since Thanksgiving.

Credit: GA DPH

Much of the spread in this surge is concentrated in the metro Atlanta area, more specifically in Clayton, Fulton, Cobb, Dekalb, Gwinnett and Henry counties. 

  • Clayton — The fifth-largest county in the state had 4,608 cases reported in the last two weeks by DPH. In Clayton County, two out of three tests came back positive.
  • Fulton — The largest county in the state had 18,337 cases reported in the last two weeks by the DPH. In Fulton, about half of the people who got tested for COVID have the virus.
  • Dekalb — The fourth-largest county in the state had 9,133 cases reported in the last two weeks by DPH.
  • Gwinnett — The second largest county in the state had 8,986 cases reported in the last two weeks by DPH.
  • Henry — The DPH reported the ninth-largest county in the state had 3,842 cases reported in the last two weeks.
  • For Cobb, Dekalb, and Gwinnett — the positivity rate is at least eight times higher than the CDC recommendation of 5% or less.

Visit the 11Alive coronavirus page for comprehensive coverage, find out what you need to know about Georgia specifically, learn more about the symptoms, and keep tabs on the cases around the world. 

State and federal officials with the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are continually monitoring the spread of the virus. They are also working hand-in-hand with the World Health Organization to track the spread around the world and to stop it.

*Hospitalization numbers lag about five days, meaning those low numbers could increase*

THE LATEST DATA:

  • As of 2:50 p.m., there have been 26,407 deaths in Georgia, an increase of 49 deaths since Wednesday. Over the last 14 days where numbers were reported by DPH, the average daily increase in newly reported deaths was 33.36 deaths each day. Over the previous 14-day period where numbers were reported, the average daily increase in newly reported deaths was 30.64.
  • There have been 1,402,483 cases confirmed in Georgia, an increase of 17,877 since Wednesday. Over the last 14 days where numbers were reported by DPH, the average daily increase in newly confirmed cases were 7616.29 new cases a day. Over the previous 14-day period where numbers were reported, the average daily increase in newly confirmed cases was 1,353. 
  • There have been 94,582 total patients hospitalized in Georgia during the pandemic, an increase of 332 since Wednesday, according to the Department of Public Health's cumulative total. Over the last 14 days where numbers were reported, the average daily increase in new patients was 283.64 new patients a day. Over the previous 14-day period where numbers were reported, the average daily increase in new patients was 152.57. 
  • The Georgia Emergency Management Agency began reporting current statewide hospitalizations on May 1. That day they reported 1,500 current hospitalizations. The agency discontinued its daily report on Sept. 5, 2020, pointing instead to the newly created Georgia COVID-19 Data Hub.
  • According to Georgia's new database, as of Dec. 29, there were 2,831 current hospitalizations – an increase of 267 hospitalizations since Wednesday. 
  • In addition, 53% of Georgians are now fully vaccinated, with 7% in-between doses, and 40% still unvaccinated.

COUNTY- CASES- DEATHS

Appling    2832    98

Atkinson    1206    32

Bacon    2001    52

Baker    247    13

Baldwin    5447    176

Banks    2573    65

Barrow    14246    199

Bartow    16782    329

Ben Hill    1886    72

Berrien    1577    51

Bibb    21456    599

Bleckley    1126    41

Brantley    1925    76

Brooks    1431    56

Bryan    4801    65

Bulloch    8181    100

Burke    2363    48

Butts    3643    114

Calhoun    618    21

Camden    6240    82

Candler    1133    50

Carroll    10993    162

Catoosa    9002    99

Charlton    1759    44

Chatham    34995    685

Chattahoochee    5519    16

Chattooga    3865    93

Cherokee    34567    464

Clarke    19088    181

Clay    239    4

Clayton    41129    747

Clinch    1034    34

Cobb    99149    1347

Coffee    6435    198

Colquitt    5752    136

Columbia    15377    260

Cook    1696    53

Coweta    15373    358

Crawford    860    40

Crisp    1895    66

Dade    1964    19

Dawson    4532    78

DeKalb    92145    1275

Decatur    3566    79

Dodge    1561    64

Dooly    1107    38

Dougherty    9490    393

Douglas    20586    255

Early    1565    53

Echols    415    5

Effingham    7249    153

Elbert    2126    72

Emanuel    2729    74

Evans    1156    35

Fannin    3363    97

Fayette    11744    227

Floyd    16706    326

Forsyth    30317    293

Franklin    3419    69

Fulton    134495    1735

Gilmer    3651    122

Glascock    198    7

Glynn    12793    307

Gordon    9190    181

Grady    2508    68

Greene    2430    65

Gwinnett    125296    1477

Habersham    6789    204

Hall    36440    661

Hancock    1061    76

Haralson    2530    48

Harris    3429    86

Hart    2416    50

Heard    1131    27

Henry    33861    501

Houston    16979    299

Irwin    914    22

Jackson    13813    223

Jasper    1145    32

Jeff Davis    1829    45

Jefferson    1884    70

Jenkins    899    43

Johnson    1052    52

Jones    2767    90

Lamar    2422    86

Lanier    811    12

Laurens    6194    212

Lee    2763    76

Liberty    6838    99

Lincoln    724    27

Long    1428    21

Lowndes    11445    236

Lumpkin    4813    94

Macon    873    40

Madison    4448    74

Marion    685    34

McDuffie    2386    63

McIntosh    1432    29

Meriwether    2450    101

Miller    1011    15

Mitchell    2243    90

Monroe    2955    119

Montgomery    1160    41

Morgan    2103    42

Murray    6658    141

Muscogee    22454    592

Newton    13196    328

Non-GA Resident/Unknown State    36207    784

Oconee    4929    74

Oglethorpe    1812    43

Paulding    19473    258

Peach    2824    96

Pickens    3863    96

Pierce    2160    90

Pike    1996    53

Polk    6825    143

Pulaski    915    42

Putnam    2809    84

Quitman    125    3

Rabun    2250    64

Randolph    621    40

Richmond    27985    611

Rockdale    10887    241

Schley    350    8

Screven    1372    35

Seminole    1239    23

Spalding    7602    292

Stephens    4707    114

Stewart    1422    30

Sumter    2932    134

Talbot    637    29

Taliaferro    130    3

Tattnall    2739    73

Taylor    809    34

Telfair    985    56

Terrell    849    56

Thomas    6195    165

Tift    4983    142

Toombs    4494    155

Towns    1614    71

Treutlen    901    45

Troup    9575    272

Turner    837    41

Twiggs    795    49

Union    3341    120

Unknown    3258    5

Upson    2942    140

Walker    10337    138

Walton    12291    326

Ware    4613    207

Warren    536    20

Washington    2421    79

Wayne    4465    160

Webster    183    7

Wheeler    626    32

White    4712    118

Whitfield    20220    332

Wilcox    651    32

Wilkes    924    27

Wilkinson    1144    42

Worth    1798    79

   

Before You Leave, Check This Out