AUGUSTA, Ga. – Georgia and South Carolina continued to see steady but low numbers of new infections with a slight uptick in new deaths in both states, with one death in the Augusta area.
Georgia added 936 new cases to reach 872,396 with 32 new deaths for 17,304, the Department of Health reported.
Richmond County saw 26 new cases for 19,674 and Columbia County had 15 more for 10,962. Other area counties saw five new cases or fewer: five in Burke for 1,766, five in McDuffie for 1,655, one in Jefferson for 1,576, one in Jenkins for 724 and two in Lincoln for 508. All other counties were unchanged: Screven at 809, Wilkes at 669, Warren at 373, Glascock at 144 and Taliaferro at 100.
Columbia County suffered a new death for 158 total, raising the area’s toll to 1,031.
Georgia Public Health got the results of 21,288 tests, of which 4.4% were positive, less than half the overall rate of 10.05%, which dropped slightly, according to an analysis by the Augusta Chronicle. The seven-day average ticked up, however, from 937.86 to 938.43, the analysis showed.
Georgia had given 5,596,431 of the 6,234,605 doses it had received through Thursday or 89.76%, Chronicle analysis found. However, the state has not updated how much vaccine it has been shipped since last Friday. Georgia was averaging 50,712 shots a day through Thursday, the analysis showed.
University Hospital was up to 20 COVID-19 inpatients Thursday, two more than Wednesday, after discharging four patients and admitting six, said spokeswoman Rebecca Sylvester.
AU Health System remained at 20 in the hospital and added 21 new positive tests for 26,494, spokeswoman Christen Engel said.
Doctors Hospital of Augusta was up one to 14 patients in the hospital and saw two more cases for 797 total, spokesman Kaden Jacobs said.
Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta had four more cases for 1,860, with 22 active cases among veterans, and remained at 91 deaths, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The Augusta VA has fully vaccinated 16,666 between 14,811 veterans, 1,854 employees and one person from Fort Gordon.
South Carolina added 437 new cases to reach 477,395 with 19 new deaths for 8,266, the Department of Health and Environmental Control reported. Aiken County saw 10 new cases for 12,706 but stayed at 176 deaths while Edgefield County was unchanged at 2,541 cases and 29 deaths.
The state got the results of 18,545 tests, of which 2.36% were positive, less than half the overall rate of 6.6%, which fell slightly, Chronicle analysis found. The seven-day average also continued to drop from 502 to 434, according to the analysis.
