| Augusta Chronicle
Both Georgia and South Carolina recorded the highest number of new deaths from COVID-19 on Friday, when Augusta hospitals broke the record number of infected patients being treated. The news comes amid a report of more than 70 cases of a more infectious strain of the virus in the United States.
Georgia suffered 157 new deaths, breaking a record set on Tuesday, reaching 10,878 with 7,348 more cases to reach 668,068, the Department of Public Health reported. Georgia has lost 579 people so far this week, according to an analysis of the Augusta Chronicle. And the virus may soon start to accelerate.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Friday that they had sequenced 76 strains of variant B.1.1.7 in samples from patients in 10 states, which includes Georgia. The variant, estimated to be 56% more infectious than the current circulating strain, will “grow rapidly” and become the dominant strain in the United States in March, according to CDC modeling.
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In Georgia, Richmond County added 172 cases to 14,923, Columbia County saw 82 more to 8,542, Burke and Jefferson Counties each had 13 more to 1,365 and 1,308, respectively, and McDuffie County added 17 to 1,213 . All other counties had seven new cases or less: five in Screven for 623, two in Jenkins for 598, seven in Wilkes for 527, three in Lincoln for 380, three in Warren for 275, four in Glascock for 110 and three in Taliaferro to 78.
Richmond County suffered two new deaths out of a total of 243, Columbia County lost one patient to 100, Burke County suffered a loss to 19 and Lincoln County died a new death to 14, increasing the number of victims from the area to 652.
Georgia Public Health obtained results from 44,753 tests, of which 16.42% were positive, well above the overall positive rate of 10.66%, which increased slightly, according to Chronicle analyze. The seven-day average for new cases fell dramatically, however, from 8,314.3 to 6,831.6, the analysis found.
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The AU Health System broke its record of patients being treated at the hospital established the day before with 124 on Friday, in addition to adding 243 positive tests to reach 20,695 since its first reports in March, said spokeswoman Christen Engel.
The University Hospital surpassed its previous record with 148 patients admitted to treatment for COVID-19 on Friday, well beyond the previous record of 140 set last week after discharging 10 patients but admitting 23 more, the spokeswoman said. Rebecca Sylvester voice. There was also an increase in the flu after the hospital started testing, she said.
Doctors Hospital of Augusta also set a record on Friday of 86 inpatients, one more than the previous record set on Sunday, and added eight new positive tests for 603 since the pandemic began, spokesman Kaden said Jacobs.
Not only did the three hospitals in Augusta set new records, but combined they set a record of 358 hospitalized patients in the city, surpassing the previous record of 341 set on Wednesday, according to Chronicle analyze. It was the third day of this week that Augusta saw a new record for hospitalized patients, the analysis found.
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Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center in Augusta saw 16 additional cases for a total of 1,275, with 188 active cases among 181 veterans and seven team members, but remained at 62 deaths, according to the Veterans Affairs Department’s website. USA.
South Carolina had a record 93 new deaths, reaching 5,513 and added 3,752 new cases to 341,597, reported the Department of Health and Environmental Control. Aiken County saw 50 new cases for 9,079 and remained with 129 deaths, while Edgefield County had 25 more for 1,665 with the same 19 deaths.
The state, which said all week was having problems with its reports due to an internal problem with a supplier, has reported no new tests and of the 4,168,325 so far, 8.1% have been positive, although DHEC said its rate current positive is more than double that at 16.5%.