The Georgia Department of Public Health reported 15 new positives for COVID-19 in Polk County as the week closes out, but other metrics have remained flat and gone down locally heading into the weekend per the latest data available.

Polk County’s total number of new tests reported stood at 319, bringing the overall number of tests to 10,874 submitted by labs in the area to the Department of Public Health. Out of that figure, 1,468 positives have been reported since the first case was reported on March 3.

That brings the positive rate overall to 13.5%, and the two-week positive average went down to 7.5%. That’s three-tenths of a point decrease in the overall rate in the past day, and a 1.4% decrease day-to-day in the two-week positive rate.

Though new cases increased on the day by double digits, the other metrics of importance remained flat. Polk County’s number of hospitalizations remained at 98 on the day, the second day without a new patient admitted for treatment of symptoms caused by COVID-19. The number of deaths also remained at 17, which hasn’t increased since Sept. 5.

Overall, the number of new cases went up again in Georgia by 1,547 on the day, bringing the overall figure to 312,514 positives. The overall positive rate did decrease by a tenth of a percentage point after a six-day run at 10.3% to 10.2%.

Georgia’s overall number of tests now stands at more than 3.1 million conducted since tracking began in late February.

New daily hospitalizations stood at 132, bringing the overall total to 28,035 who have been treated for the virus. Out of the overall figure, some 5,156 people have needed intensive care treatment around the state.

Sadly, the number of deaths did increase statewide by 53 Georgians who died due to the virus or due to other ailments that were worsened by COVID-19. That brought the overall death toll to 6,874.

Nationwide, COVID-19 has been found in 6,958,632 people in total since tracking began earlier in the year, an increase from midweek to Thursday by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s tracking (delayed a day to confirm numbers) at 42,340 new positives for the virus.

COVID-19 sadly took the lives of another 918 people across the country between Sept. 23 and Sept. 24, bringing the overall death toll confirmed by the CDC to 202,329 Americans.