Coweta County’s COVID-19 cases rose to 12,593 Tuesday, with 82 new infections confirmed since Oct. 12.

There were 319 total deaths in Coweta as of Tuesday, with 19 new deaths reported in the past week. According to the DPH, there are another 31 probable deaths** from COVID-19 as of Tuesday’s report, and hospitalizations are at 779 (+19).

Coweta also has reported a total of 8,038 antigen positive* tests, up 63 since Oct. 12. Antigen positives are not included in the DPH’s confirmed case totals, which are based on molecular (polymerase chain reaction, or PCR) tests. However, antigen positive tests are highly indicative of COVID-19 infection.

Across Georgia, the DPH reported a total of 1,254,261 confirmed cases on Tuesday – 8,161 since Oct. 12 – and a total of 366,433 antigen positive tests (+2,852).

The state has reported 24,053 total confirmed deaths from COVID-19, including 541 new deaths since Oct. 12. Another 4,023 probable deaths from COVID-19 in Georgia also were reported Tuesday.

A total of 84,461 people have been admitted to Georgia hospitals for COVID-19 treatment since the health crisis began, and 13,240 of those patients have been admitted to intensive care units.

According to statistics posted by the DPH Tuesday, a total of 12,143,199 molecular tests for active infections have been performed at drive-thru sites and facilities statewide, with a current positive rate of 10.5 percent.***

A total of 652,602 serology tests for antibodies from previous infections have been performed statewide, with a 26.5 percent positive rate.

*PCR tests – processed in laboratories – look for genetic material from the virus. Antigen tests – usually processed in a health care provider’s office – are rapid tests that look for specific proteins found on the surface of the virus. Antigen positives are highly indicative of COVID-19 infection, but occasional false negative results are reported among people who are actually infected with the disease.

**This number includes individuals who are antigen positive or individuals with compatible illness and known close contact to a case that was either reported to DPH as deceased by health care providers or medical examiners/coroners, or identified by death certificates with COVID-19 indicated as the cause of death. It also includes cases in which there is evidence that COVID-19 contributed to the individual’s death OR individuals with a death certificate that has COVID-19 indicated as the cause of death and there is no laboratory evidence for SARS-CoV-2.

***The number of positive tests is not the same as the number of cases. Some tests may not be reported to DPH through electronic laboratory reporting, and numbers may include multiple tests performed on the same individual.

Coweta’s neighboring counties (since October 12):

Cases and deaths are cumulative.

Carroll County – 9,921 confirmed cases (+37), 6,346 antigen positive cases (+26), 151 confirmed deaths (+3) and 149 probable deaths. Hospitalizations: 384 (+2).

Fayette County – 9,614 confirmed cases (+66), 3,415 antigen positive cases (+25), 199 confirmed deaths (+2) and 21 probable deaths. Hospitalizations: 582 (+11).

Fulton County – 110,579 confirmed cases (+742), 20,412 antigen positive cases (+82), 1,585 confirmed deaths (+23) and 130 probable deaths. Hospitalizations: 7,068 (+123).

Heard County – 1,027 confirmed cases (+2), 434 antigen positive cases (+1), 23 confirmed deaths and 11 probable deaths. Hospitalizations: 63.

Meriwether County – 2,175 confirmed cases (+6), 772 antigen positive tests (+1), 94 confirmed deaths (+4) and 14 probable deaths. Hospitalizations: 216 (+4).

Spalding County – 6,696 confirmed cases (+34), 3,525 antigen positive cases (+29), 243 confirmed deaths (+11) and 42 probable deaths. Hospitalizations: 623 (+5).

Troup County – 8,481 confirmed cases (+25), 2,293 antigen positive cases (+7), 256 confirmed deaths (+10) and 47 probable deaths. Hospitalizations: 634 (+4).

For more information and statistics on the outbreak in Georgia, visit https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-... .

The disease in the U.S. and worldwide

COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which was identified after health officials reported a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, to the World Health Organization in late 2019.

Since then, more than 240 million people have been sickened by COVID-19 in 235 countries, areas and territories, and more than 4.9 million have died, according to the WHO.

More than 723,000 COVID-19-related deaths and more than 44 million confirmed infections have been reported in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, including 16,989 new cases and 150 new deaths between Monday and Tuesday.

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Coweta County Case History

MARCH 2020: 32 cases, 2 deaths

APRIL 2020: 154 new cases, 2 new deaths

MAY 2020: 221 new cases, 5 new deaths

JUNE 2020: 251 new cases, 6 new deaths

JULY 2020: 620 new cases, 4 new deaths

AUGUST 2020: 953 new cases, 7 new deaths

SEPTEMBER 2020: 362 new cases, 21 new deaths

OCTOBER 2020: 327 new cases, 16 new deaths

NOVEMBER 2020: 640 new cases, 5 new deaths

DECEMBER 2020: 1,620 new cases, 10 new deaths

JANUARY 2021: 1,866 new cases, 31 new deaths

FEBRUARY 2021: 886 new cases, 41 new deaths

MARCH 2021: 354 new cases, 29 new deaths

APRIL 2021: 247 new cases, 25 new deaths

MAY 2021: 171 new cases, 4 new deaths

JUNE 2021: 70 new cases, 7 new deaths

JULY 2021: 211 new cases, 5 new deaths

AUGUST 2021: 1,626 new cases, 13 new deaths

SEPTEMBER 2021: 1,558 new cases, 46 new deaths

OCTOBER 2021:

1 – 12,305 cases, 285 deaths

4 – 12,369 cases, 288 deaths

5 – 12,385 cases, 289 deaths

6 – 12,394 cases, 292 deaths

7 – 12,439 cases, 295 deaths

8 – 12,455 cases, 298 deaths

12 – 12,511 cases, 300 deaths

13 – 12,526 cases, 302 deaths

14 – 12,540 cases, 307 deaths

15 – 12,552 cases, 313 deaths

18 – 12,586 cases, 316 deaths

19 – 12,593 cases, 319 deaths

(To date: 300 new cases, 38 new deaths)

***Multiple providers and facilities can enter data into the DPH’s reportable disease surveillance system. Because of this, cases may sometimes be inadvertently duplicated. Duplicates are deleted from the system as soon as they are discovered, which occasionally can result in a decrease in the number of reported cases and other statistics.