ATLANTA — The U.S. has reached another grim milestone of more than 800,000 COVID-19 deaths since the pandemic began.
To put that into perspective, the population of Atlanta was estimated to be around 500,000 people in 2021.
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Nearly 26,000 deaths have been reported in Georgia, or an average of around 1 in 300 people statewide.
In some rural counties, that number is much higher. According to data from the New York Times, in ten rural Georgia counties, more than 1 in 150 people have died of COVID-19.
Georgia Counties with highest death rate from COVID-19
- Hancock County -- 1 in 103
- Candler County -- 1 in 120
- Truetlen County -- 1 in 128
- Twiggs County -- 1 in 131
- Upson County -- 1 in 139
- Wilcox -- 1 in 139
- Glascock County -- 1 in 141
- Towns County -- 1 in 143
- Jenkins County -- 1 in 145
- Terrell County -- 1 in 147
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That number of deaths across the U.S. is expected to increase before the end of the day Monday, as state and local health departments update their data. Georgia is averaging 22.3 deaths per day, down from 103.1 per day during the delta-driven peak in September.
More than half the country has seen an increase in deaths in the past two weeks. Georgia has seen a 37% increase in new COVID-19 cases in the past 14 days, but a 67% decrease in deaths.
Only 50% of Georgians are fully vaccinated.
Just a handful of states have a higher death rate than Georgia, according to state health data.
In Mississippi, around 1 in 260 people have died from COVID-19 statewide. Alabama has seen 1 in 282 COVID-19 deaths.
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