Georgia Reports More Than 1,000 Dead From Coronavirus

GEORGIA — Georgia recorded more than 1,000 deaths from COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, for the first time Tuesday.

As of noon Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health reports 1,026 deaths, 84 more than reported at noon Monday. The total number of confirmed cases is 24,615, with 4,814 hospitalizations recorded.

Although the state's fatalities from the virus continues to climb, Gov. Brian Kemp has said the slow reopening of businesses can be done safely. He tweeted Tuesday morning that according to data submitted by Georgia hospitals to the Georgia Emergency Management Agency, 992 ventilators are in use by COVID-19 patients. Tuesday marks the lowest day for ventilator use in the state with 1,854 ventilators available out of 2,846 total.

Along with Tuesday's numbers came a redesigned website that showed more statistics and was easier to read. Among other things, the website showed clearly that more than 140,000 Georgians had been tested so far, and that nearly 1,100 had been admitted to intensive care units.

Fulton County still has the most confirmed cases with 2,710, but only the second-most deaths with 106. Dougherty County has the fifth most cases — 1,491 — but with a whopping 1,658.42 cases per 100,000 population, the southwest Georgia county still has the highest number of deaths at 117.

Rounding out the top five counties for number of cases is DeKalb at second with 1,878, Gwinnett at third with 1,582, and Cobb in fourth with 1,511. Cobb County has the third highest number of deaths with 80, Gwinnett is in fourth with 54, and DeKalb is in fifth with 44. All but one of the top five counties are in the metro Atlanta area.

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As Georgia topped 1,000 deaths, the U.S. reported a milestone of its own: more than 1 million reported cases of COVID-19, according to NBC News. As of Tuesday, more than 56,000 people in the U.S. had died from the coronavirus.

Georgia’s increasing numbers come at the same time Governor Brian Kemp has loosened shelter-in-place restrictions for the state. On Friday, some hair salons, nail salons, bowling alleys and gyms reopened. On Monday, restaurants were allowed to reopen. All reopenings required appropriate social distancing and following other CDC guidelines. In the face of blowback from both the public and the media, Kemp aggressively defended his decision to reopen at a Monday afternoon press conference.

While some businesses reopened and some localities are supporting Kemp, other cities like Atlanta — where the coronavirus has hit hard — have been reluctant to go all in. On the Tamron Hall television show Monday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said it made her “heart sink” when she saw a hair salon that couldn’t possibly enforce social distancing reopen.

She also criticized Kemp for deciding to lift some restrictions. “I’ve never found the governor to be an unreasonable man, but this really defies logic for me,” Lance Bottoms said.

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