Number Of Confirmed COVID-19 Cases Increases, But At Lower Rate

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 10-county Northeast Health District of Georgia grew by 16 in the 24-hour period ending at noon on Wednesday, down from the increase of 46 cases in the 24-hour period ending at noon on Tuesday.

The number of deaths in the Northeast Health District increased by only one during that time period, reflecting the first death attributable to the disease in Oconee County, picked up in the 7 p.m. Daily Status Report from Tuesday.

The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state increased by 1,063 from a day earlier, according to the noon Daily Status Report of the Georgia Department of Health. That compares with an increase of 1,504 a day earlier.

The number of deaths statewide increased statewide by 33, compared with an increase of 100 reported on Tuesday. And the number of hospitalizations increased by 207, compared with the 442 figure from Tuesday.

The number of tests recorded statewide increased by 5,074, the largest number of new tests recorded going back to March 18, when the Department of Health began releasing testing data.

The number of confirmed cases lags tests, so positive cases may increase in the coming days as a result of new testing.

A study by the University of Georgia released on Wednesday projects that only under extreme conditions will the demand for hospital beds in the 17-county area served by the two Hospitals based in Athens exceed capacity.

The current projection for the state by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington is that the demand for hospital beds in Georgia will peak on April 20 and that the demand for hospital beds will not exceed supply.

For more on the story, with updated charts showing the trends, please go to Oconee County Observations.