Some good news at the start of the week for Polk County: the number of new COVID-19 cases dropped once again in a big decrease reported by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

The bad news? The numbers are still going up toward the next major milestone of 1,000 positives.

Polk County added three cases of COVID-19 on the day, bringing the total number since tracking began to 961 positives for the virus that began spreading across the world at the beginning of the year. The number of people hospitalized by the virus remained at 44, and the number of deaths at 11 in the latest DPH report.

Numbers were down to start the week statewide, with Georgia overall seeing an increase of just 1,843 positives in the past 24 hours and bringing the total since tracking began in February to 238,861 cases of the virus found out of 2 million+ tests conducted throughout Georgia.

Along with a smaller increase of new hospital patients was at 46, the lowest number reported in weeks of new patients being treated at medical facilities around the state. The total number who have required treatment since tracking began stood at 22,133 people, with 4,061 needing intensive care treatment out of that figure.

Sadly, another 25 Georgians lost their lives due to the virus. It brought that total to 4,727 deaths since tracking began earlier this year.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest report put the number of cases at 5,382,125 nationwide, an increase of 41,893 cases that have been confirmed between August 15 and 16.

Officials reported via the agency website that the number of deaths at across the country was at 169,350, a confirmed increase of 654 in a 24 hour period over the weekend.