COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere it seems. The number of cases remains on the rise at midweek, another five added to keep in line with a pattern of increase and a flattening over the weekend.

Polk County posted a figure of 131 cases as of June 3, according to the latest statistics from the Georgia Department of Public Health’s lone afternoon report. The local tally of people who have required hospital treatment stayed at 13 for the day, and the lone death that occurred on May 8 remains the only reported by the state for COVID-19 at this time.

Georgia’s tally for COVID-19 cases sits at 48,894 total cases that have been reported since the end of February, out of 574,400 tests administered. Of that number of people who have tested positive, there have sadly been 2,123 Georgians lost to the virus.

The virus has hospitalized 8,419 patients, and sent of that 1,841 into intensive care.

Georgia’s just 2% of the total cases that have been reported nationwide according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, which put the June 3 tally of people with COVID-19 at 1,827,425. Out of that figure, 106,202 Americans have perished due to the virus.

Case growth remains around Polk County as well.

As of midweek, the figures looked as follows:

Bartow County had a total of 496 cases of COVID-19, which required 138 of its residents to seek hospital care and caused the death of 39 people.

Paulding County posted 334 positive cases of COVID-19 as of June 3. They had 71 people hospitalized and 11 deaths in the past months.

Floyd County COVID-19 positive increased to 281 on the day, with 43 people hospitalized so far and 15 people who have died due to the virus.

Haralson County positives for the virus grew to 49 as of June 3, with 13 people who have been sent to the hospital and now four deaths from COVID-19.

Though the number of daily cases is increasing, the rate of hospitalizations has decreased over time in more populous areas.

Polk County’s case growth has remained steady in a pattern since May, when numbers began to increase toward the 100 case mark. The number of positives are likely to continue to grow according to local health officials, who explained that as testing increases so does the number of people who have been found with the virus.

The county has also only had one nursing home resident test positive for the virus, according to Georgia Department of Community Health officials and their daily report.

Governor Brian Kemp told Georgians that they should remain vigilant and continue to take precautions to safeguard their health during a press conference on Tuesday afternoon.

“Please continue to follow public health advice and mitigate your risk of exposure. We are still battling a pandemic, and we need to stay vigilant. Wear a mask, keep your distance, and wash your hands regularly,” he said. “We’re starting to see more patients return for regular screenings, but we’re also seeing an increase in more serious diagnoses because people have delayed medical intervention. Don’t skip medical appointments. Prioritize your health.”

Dr. Kathleen Toomey – who heads up DPH – also used the press conference to address concerns about a potential growth of cases due to demonstrations happening in metro areas around the state.