Georgia COVID-19 hospitalizations reach same levels as January peak

ATLANTA — The number of Georgians currently hospitalized with COVID-19 now matches the number at the peak of the pandemic in January.

Nearly 5,600 people are battling the virus in hospitals across the state. At what was previously the peak of the pandemic in January 2021, around 5,700 were hospitalized with COVID-19.

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And the surge driven by the highly-contagious delta variant shows no signs of stopping.

The Georgia Department of Public Health does not release daily case-counts on the weekend, but on Friday, there were 8,403 new cases of the virus reported and 59 new deaths.

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COVID-19 patients account for 32.4% of patients hospitalized in the state. In one region of Southeast Georgia, COVID-19 patients account for over 60% of those hospitalized.

Over 92.5% of ICU beds are in use statewide, but some regions of Georgia are far over capacity in ICUs. Far southeast Georgia is at 127.03% capacity in the intensive care unit, with 20 additional beds added.

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Northwest Georgia hospitals are operating at 106.33% capacity and one region in northeast Georgia is running at 100% capacity.

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