Some positive news in the evolving situation around COVID-19: Polk County’s number of new positives was down compared to the number reported for the end of the week, according to Saturday figures released by the Georgia Department of Public Health tracking the virus.

Saturday saw a jump of 10 new positives overall for the virus, bringing the overall tally to 1,334 cases since tracking began. A positive note in the day’s report was there were no new increases in the number of people who have required hospital treatment – remaining at 86 – and no new deaths from the virus reported, remaining at 17.

This marks a full seven days without a new death from COVID-19 reported by the Department of Public Health in Polk County, the last coming on Sept. 5.

Polk County’s rate of new positives over the past two weeks went back up by a tenth of a percentage point to 9.2%, which does continue to keep it out of the hot spot zone. Overall, the percentage of positive tests of those who have sought to find out if they have COVID-19 remains at 14.2%.

Georgia’s tally of new cases rose by another 2,143 in the past 24 hours to 292,905 since tracking began, and put the state at a 10.3% positive rate – also down by a tenth of a percentage point – out of the more than 2.8 million tests conducted overall.

Statewide, medical centers admitted another 164 people for treatment of symptoms of the virus, bringing the total figure of those treated to 26,327. Out of that figure, the number of intensive care patients treated increased to 4,818. That number has been slowly growing over the summer months and into September as well.

The number of deaths across the state was at 40 on the day, and bring the tally of those lost to the virus or contributing factors made worse by its symptoms to 6,287.

Nationwide, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention put the figure of total cases at 6,427,058, up by another 46,045 positives. Sadly, some 192,388 have died from the virus this year, an increase confirmed as of September 11 at 1,035 deaths.