GA Positivity Rates Tops 9% As New COVID-19 Cases Climb

ATLANTA, GA — As Georgia celebrates this July 4 weekend, the state reported the percentage of positive coronavirus tests had climbed to 9.2 percent on Saturday. The percentage of positive tests has crept up in the past week after hovering near 8 percent.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported a total of 93,319 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up from 87,709 on Thursday.

This weekend Gov. Brian Kemp urged Georgians to follow the guidance of public health officials, socially distance, wear a mask in public, and wash their hands.

"There is nothing the American people cannot overcome when we stand together, and that is how we will defeat the virus together," Kemp said in a video released Saturday morning.

Georgia also reported 2,857 deaths from COVID-19 on Saturday, eight more than reported Thursday. In addition, the state reported 11,743 hospitalizations — 243 more than Thursday — and 2,425 admissions to intensive-care units.

No information is available from Georgia about how many patients have recovered.

On Thursday, state and federal leaders encouraged wearing a mask to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

"We must be vigilant," Kemp said Thursday, "because the uptick is a clear reminder that we are not out of the woods yet. We cannot become complacent or weary."

More than 1.09 million Georgians as of Saturday had tested for COVID-19, with 5.3 percent the less reliable tests for antibodies. About 8.6 percent of all tests came back positive; 9.2 percent of the viral tests have been confirmed positive.

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

• Gwinnett County: 9,482 confirmed cases
• Fulton County: 8,433 confirmed cases
• DeKalb County: 6,689 confirmed cases
• Cobb County: 5,679 confirmed cases
• Hall County: 3,395 confirmed cases

Counties in or near metro Atlanta also continue to have the highest number of deaths. The lone exception is Dougherty County, the site of Georgia's first major outbreak.

• Fulton County: 314 deaths
• Cobb County: 245 deaths
• DeKalb County: 173 deaths
• Gwinnett County: 173 deaths
• Dougherty County: 155 deaths

All Georgia statistics are available on the state's COVID-19 website.

Globally, more than 11.1 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 527,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Saturday. In the United States, more than 2.8 million people have been infected and more than 129,000 people have died from COVID-19.

The U.S. has more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country.