New record in COVID-19 deaths reached for second time in a week in Georgia
ATLANTA - Georgia has had another record-setting day for reported deaths from COVID-19. For the fourth day in a row, the reported number of deaths has increased daily by triple digits, state health officials report.
The new record was set on a day when Johns Hopkins University said the world passed another grim milestone of more than 2 million deaths from the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.
As of 3 p.m. Friday, 157 new confirmed coronavirus deaths were added to the data provided by the Georgia Department of Public Health. That brings the total confirmed deaths to 10,878 since the start of the pandemic. To give some kind of perspective on that, Coolray Field, where the Gwinnett Stripers play, has 10,427 seats, and Lakewood Stadium, where several Atlanta high schools play football Friday nights, holds about 10,000 people.
Those numbers do not include the 1,260 total probable deaths counted by the GDPH since the start of the pandemic.
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Hospitalizations have fallen slightly the past two days, but still, facilities report they are at or near capacity. As of Friday afternoon, the GDPH reports 5,584 hospitalizations. To give a little perspective, Gateway Center Arena in East Point, where the Skyhawks and the Atlanta Dream play, holds about 5,000, and State Mutual Stadium, where the Rome Braves play, holds about 5,105 people.
The GDPH reports 46,208 have been hospitalized since the start of the pandemic which is more than the record attendance set during a regular season Atlanta Braves game at Truist Park of 43,619.
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Know how the COVID-19 outbreak is impacting Georgia
According to GDPH data, there has been an average of 6,620 new COVID-19 cases per day for the last 14 days, or about 92,673 total cases during that same time. That could fill Sandford Stadium to near capacity Georgia Bulldogs game. The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases could actually fill the stadium seven times over. The GDPH said as of Friday, there have been a total of 668,068 cases.
Those numbers do not include the 133,062 total confirmed cases through antigen testing. That number could easily fill Atlanta Motor Speedway to beyond capacity.
Of course, all those sporting venues won't be seeing anything close to capacity until the pandemic is over. Health officials continue to urge all Georgians to do their part to fight the virus by wearing a mask, maintaining a proper social distance in public, avoiding crowds unless necessary, and frequently washing hands.