Kemp Stresses Mask Wearing As Positive Tests Dip Below 10 Percent

GEORGIA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp took to social media Thursday to stress the importance of masks, social distancing and washing hands, as hospitalizations and positive tests are dropping.

The Georgia Department of Public Health reported a total of 228,668 confirmed cases of COVID-19 at 2:50 p.m. Thursday. That's 2,674 more than was reported at the same time Wednesday.

Georgia also reported 4,538 deaths so far from COVID-19, 83 more than reported Wednesday. In addition, the state reported 21,581 hospitalizations — 202 more than the day before — and 3,963 total admissions to intensive care units.

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

Earlier this week, Georgia set a new record for the highest single-day death toll from the coronavirus with 125 new deaths, the Department of Public Health reported.

Georgia's coronavirus case counts continue to surge as the state sends students in some districts back to in-person classes. In-person school at Woodstock High School was called off for the rest of the month after the number of positive cases at the school had increased to 14 with tests for another 15 students pending on Wednesday. As a result of the confirmed cases, 289 students and staff are under quarantine and, should the pending tests prove positive, the total would significantly increase, the district said in a news release.

All Woodstock High School in-person students will stay home from school until the scheduled reopening on Aug. 31. Teachers will spend Thursday preparing for the shift to remote learning, and the building will be deep-cleaned. Remote learning will begin on Friday, with teachers reporting to school to provide this online instruction.

Counties in or near metro Atlanta continue to have the highest number of positive test results, with Fulton County continuing to lead the state.

• Fulton County: 21,373 cases
• Gwinnett County: 20,900 cases
• DeKalb County: 14,563 cases
• Cobb County: 14,463 cases
• Hall County: 6,339 cases

Counties in or near metro Atlanta also continue to have the most deaths from COVID-19. The lone exception is Dougherty County, the site of Georgia's first major outbreak.

• Fulton County: 462 deaths
• Cobb County: 332 deaths
• Gwinnett County: 282 deaths
• DeKalb County: 251 deaths
• Dougherty County: 172 deaths

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

Globally, more than 20.7 million people have been infected by the coronavirus, and more than 751,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday.

In the United States, more than 5.2 million people have been infected and more than 166,000 people have died from COVID-19 as of Thursday. The U.S. has only about 4 percent of the world's population but more confirmed cases and deaths than any other country.