ATLANTA — Georgia surpassed another milestone with more than 100,000 coronavirus cases.
The Georgia Department of Public Health is currently reporting 100,470 cases and 2,899 deaths as of 3 p.m. Tuesday. That is an increase of 3,406 cases and 21 new deaths since Monday.
Georgia becomes the ninth state to pass the 100,000 case mark, joining New York, California, Florida, Texas, New Jersey, Illinois, Massachusetts and Arizona.
Tuesday’s increase is the second highest jump in cases, slightly behind Thursday’s record numbers.
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In the past week, the number of confirmed cases has increased 19,179. That’s more than 19% of our total cases since the first case was reported in March.
People who tested positive for COVID-19 has been increasing in Georgia for the past two weeks with a current rate of 9.40%.
Hospitalization rate however continues to decrease and currently sits at is 12.21% compared to 18% in May.
Georgia’s death rate among people who have tested positive has also been decreasing since May and right now sits at 2.89%, which is below the national 4% death rate.
Metro Atlanta, and all of Georgia, remain under a Public Health State of Emergency through August 11.
MORE COVID-19 ASSISTANCE IN GEORGIA
Channel 2 Action News was there last week when U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams visited Gwinnett County to participate in Gov. Brian Kemp’s “Wear a Mask” tour.
Channel 2′s Richard Elliot has now learned the governor’s office made an official request through the surgeon general for more COVID-19 related assistance.
The office wants an extension of federal funding for the Georgia National Guard testing, more PPE supplies and dramatic increase in federal allotment of testing supplies.
The specific focus is on testing infrastructure for Gwinnett County.
Gwinnett’s public health director Dr. Audrey Arona says they’re seeing a surge in cases though the other numbers are trending in the right direction.
Still, she admits the county is at its maximum for testing, about 1,000 tests a day. She says they would greatly appreciate more help.
“Lab capacity, test kits, work force, all this has to be ramped up in order to meet the demand of the public for testing because the demand has really increased over the last few weeks,” Arona said.
Gov. Kemp also spoke with Georgia mayors and county commissioners on a conference call Tuesday. Kemp worried any state mandates would lead to court challenges. So instead, he asked local leaders to encourage safe practices like wearing a mask.
“We don’t need a mandate to have Georgians do the right thing. But we do need to build strong public support,” Kemp said. “Let’s work together with a unified voice to remind Georgians what’s effective and important in this fight.”
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