COVID-19 positives have gone up by 41 in the past two days, now at 274 total reported cases since tracking began in earlier in the spring.

Today’s newest increase stood at 20 locally, and statewide at 3,420 new cases according to the Georgia Department of Public Health’s July 8 report. It marks the second largest increase back-to-back in daily increases in Polk County since the first case was reported in mid-March. The report also noted a new hospitalization of a local resident, which brings that total up to 17 in all. No new deaths have been reported locally, remaining at 1 at present.

Among the figures are four reported cases in nursing homes locally, one in four different facilities over time.

The statewide tally for the number of total infections now sits at 103,890 after today’s reported increase. That includes 274 new hospitalizations to bring the total to 12,500, and 2,502 ICU admissions.

Sadly, 23 new deaths were recorded in Georgia to bring the tally to 2,922 since tracking began.

Polk County’s neighbors are also seeing increases in cases. In Bartow County, some 37 new cases brought their tally to 844 on July 8, with 163 hospitalizations and 42 deaths.

Eastward in Paulding County, the report saw 41 new cases added to their total to land at 765 people who have tested positive cumulatively. Their hospitalizations stood at 96, and their deaths at 16 on the day.

Floyd County posted a figure of 654 cases, up 25 cases with 59 people so far hospitalized, and 15 deaths reported due to COVID-19. Haralson County had 95 cases as of this afternoon, a total of eight new positives. They added a hospitalization to bring their tally to 17, but remained at five deaths.

Nationwide, the tally increased by a new 50,304 cases to bring the U.S. total to 2,982,900 positives, and the death toll stood at 131,065. That increase amounted to a new 932 deaths in the past 24 hours from the virus.

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Among the latest COVID-19 related news on the day, the closest to home making an impact on the national level is in Atlanta where Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms is reported by several news outlets to require residents of the city to wear masks while out in public spaces by an executive order.

The mayor tested positive herself for COVID-19 in recent days and went into quarantine. Globally, COVID-19 has hit another leader, this time the President of Brazil Jari Bolsonaro. It was announced several days ago that he tested positive for the virus.