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More than 1,000 Georgians have died of COVID-19 in last 2 weeks

ATLANTA — More than 1,000 Georgians have died of COVID-19 in the past two weeks, according to data released Thursday by the Georgia Department of Health.

Georgia reached the grim milestone of 20,000 deaths from the virus on Sept. 3. Just 13 days later, that total has jumped to 21,143.

Thursday was one of the deadliest days of the pandemic, with 174 people reported to have died of the virus. Only three more days were deadlier, with totals of 175 on Feb. 6, 176 on Feb. 16 and 186 on Feb. 12.

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An average of 99 people in Georgia are dying a day as the highly-contagious delta variant of the virus surges, primarily among the unvaccinated.

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Georgia hospital ICUs are at 96% capacity, slightly higher than earlier this week. The region surrounding west Georgia that includes Columbus is currently the hardest-hit region of the state, with ICU beds at 118% capacity.

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Only 46% of Georgians are fully vaccinated.