More than 10K new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Georgia on Friday
ATLANTA - Friday smashed all previous records for single-day increases in confirmed reported coronavirus cases in the state of Georgia.
The Georgia Department of Public Health reported more than 10,000 new cases bringing the state’s total to 620,247 since the start of the pandemic. That is an average of just under 6,000 new cases a day for the last two weeks or 83,168 cases in the same period.
Georgia’s two-week average has been on a steady increase since Dec. 6. On that date, the two-week average was at 2,815.
These numbers do not include the 116,679 antigen cases which saw an increase overnight of more than 3,000.
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For the fourth day in a row, hospitalizations have also set a new record.
The state reports 5,515 current hospitalizations or about 32.2% of all patients in Georgia’s hospitals as those facilities report being at or near capacity. In the last week, 1,760 patients have been hospitalized.
Because of the latest numbers, school districts in Fulton and Cherokee counties have decided to remain all virtual next week.
RELATED: CoronavirusNOW.com, FOX's national hub for COVID-19 news and updates.
Know how the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting Georgia
The number of deaths from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic is at 10,180, the GPDH reports. That does not include the 1,134 probable deaths from the virus. In the last week, 291 new deaths have been reported.