GA Coronavirus Cases Sets Another Record Sunday

ATLANTA, GA — Georgia set a new record Sunday for confimed coronavirus cases — 2,225 — after a one-day dip Saturday of 1,549 new cases for the day, according to state health officials. This is the sixth straight day that Georgia has reported more than 1,000 new cases.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported a cumulative total of 77,210 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, up from 74,985 cases of the coronavirus on Saturday. State reports show 2,778 deaths confirmed because of the respiratory disease, an increase of two deaths in the past day and eight more since Friday. Over the last two weeks, Georgia has had about 23 coronavirus deaths a day.

Georgia also reported 10,711 people admitted to hospitals on Sunday, and 2,268 admissions to intensive-care units. That comes with 10,689 hospitalizations Saturday and 2,261 admissions to intensive-care units.

About 8.8 percent of the 806,938 coronavirus tests administered so far have returned positive results.

Gov. Brian Kemp said last week he isn't prepared to mandate the wearing of face masks as has been the case in 18 other states including North Carolina. On Wednesday, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper issued the executive order mandating masks for employees and customers at all businesses in the state.

Kemp said he strongly encourages the use of masks to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and is setting the example by wearing his own mask as he visits communities around the state.

"Mandating that I think is a bridge too far for me right now," Kemp said at a news conference Friday. "We have to have the public buy in. We have asked our citizens to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem. It's a virus. It's going to spread. We're not going to stop if from happening."

Counties in or near metro Atlanta continue to have the highest number of cases, with Gwinnett still in the lead.

• Gwinnett County: 7,685 confirmed cases
• Fulton County: 6,610confirmed cases
• DeKalb County: 5,448 confirmed cases
• Cobb County: 4,607 confirmed cases
• Hall County: 3,117 confirmed cases

Globally, more than 10.06 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 499,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Sunday. In the United States, more than 2.5 million people have been infected and just over 125,000 people have died from COVID-19.