AUGUSTA, Ga. – New deaths for COVID-19 crept up in Georgia as Augusta exceeded a grim milestone of 400 lives lost in the pandemic. But new infections remained steady and Georgia surpassed 5 million vaccinations against the disease.
Georgia suffered 58 new deaths for a toll of 17,130 with 932 new cases to reach 865,827, the Department of Public Health reported.
Richmond County saw 32 new cases for 19,521 total and Columbia County had 20 more for 10,887. All other area counties saw eight cases or fewer: eight in Burke for 1,750, two in McDuffie for 1,637, and three in Jefferson for 1,572. All other counties were unchanged: Screven at 808, Jenkins at 722, Wilkes at 668, Lincoln at 506, Warren at 370, Glascock at 144 and Taliaferro at 100.
Richmond County suffered four new deaths for 403 total, but two deaths were subtracted from Columbia County for 157 there. With a new death in Aiken, the area’s toll stood at 1,027.
Georgia Public Health got the results of 20,426 tests, of which 4.56% were positive, less than half the overall rate of 10.12%, which dropped slightly, according to an analysis by the Augusta Chronicle. The seven-day average for new cases also fell from 946.71 to 919.86, the analysis showed.
