COVID-19 cases are still slowly growing in Polk County, but after an evening jump on May 18 have settled down for a day at 80 heading into midweek of the tenth week since schools closed and the COVID-19 shutdowns began.

Though in recent weeks state restrictions have loosened in Georgia, the number of cases continues to go up. As of the May 19 evening update, the state’s Department of Public Health reported that 38,855 people have been found positive for COVID-19, out of 378,156 total tests conducted.

Here locally, that 80 case figure includes 12 hospitalizations and no deaths so far. But statewide, the death toll now stood at 1,675 people and continues to grow by the day. It is a higher figure than the number of people who have been treated in intensive care – 1,607 people as of the evening update – out of the 7,076 hospitalizations that have occurred statewide.

Around the area, the figures are increasing still as well. Here’s what they looked like by day’s end:

• Bartow County posted figures now up to 410 total cases, with 132 people hospitalized from the virus and 35 deaths.
• In Paulding County, the tally stood by evening at 247 cases, and of that 58 hospitalizations and 10 deaths.
• Floyd County jumped to 195 positive tests for the virus, with 43 hospitalizations and 13 deaths.
• Haralson County saw an increase to 35 people found to have contracted COVID-19, but did not see an increase in hospitalizations remaining at nine, and only two deaths.

National tallies stood at just over 1.5 million positives for COVID-19, and increased to 90,340 deaths across the United States.