A total of 5,430 new cases of coronavirus were reported across Georgia on Thursday by the state’s Department of Public Health, which also noted 147 more virus-related deaths. Three of those fatalities were reported here in Floyd County.
According to the latest report from the DPH issued just prior to 3 pm, there have been 737,205 confirmed cases of COVID-19 statewide. The state’s death toll now stands at 12,280. Here in Floyd County, there were 8,463 confirmed cases and 138 deaths. Gwinnett County had the state’s highest number of confirmed cases with 72,464, and Fulton County had the most fatalities with 876.
The full COVID-19 Daily Status Report is posted on the Georgia Department of Public Health’s website, www.dph.georgia.gov. That site also features a vaccine dashboard and a vaccine locator. As of the latest report at 5:28 pm on Thursday night, 836,518 vaccines had been administered statewide.
Seniors age 65 and older are currently included in the expanded 1A criteria and are urged by Governor Brian Kemp to make an appointment to receive their vaccine from a local healthcare provider. A total of 418,584 seniors in Georgia have already been vaccinated, as indicated in a media release from the Governor’s Office on Thursday.
According to Kemp, “Our top priority is getting vaccines in the arms of the most vulnerable Georgians: our seniors. Thanks to our expanded weekly allocation from the federal government, we will continue taking necessary steps to protect elderly Georgians (especially those in our nursing homes), frontline healthcare workers, and first responders.”
Demand for the coronavirus vaccine still outweighs the supply, Kemp went on to say.