The data in this report can be used to assess the extent of COVID-19 community transmission and recent trends by age group or county. Click on the above tabs to see statewide and county level data about COVID-19 cases, deaths, and emergency department visits. See the data description below for an explanation of the data in each tab. This report is updated weekly on Thursdays.
Due to variations in the availability of testing, test-seeking behavior, local outbreaks, and widespread testing in congregate living settings, these data may not accurately represent true community transmission. Instead, these data should be considered alongside additional factors affecting the community and in consultation with District Public Health, who can provide more guidance about the scenario in your county. Data in this report may not match data in the Georgia DPH COVID-19 Status Report. This report is produced weekly and is static. Daily case counts may change as previously reported cases may be removed as duplicate reports are corrected or may be reclassified as additional information is collected during case investigation.
Additional COVID-19-related trends as well as links to other data resources can be found on the DPH COVID-19 Status Report. An overview of these resources is available in our Data Resource Guide.
Please send any questions regarding this report to contactpublichealth@dph.ga.gov.
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These tabs display trends in COVID-19 cases and deaths over time for different age groups. The Cases tab additionally displays trends in outbreaks over time across the state.
COVID-related counts are based on data available in the State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS) as of January 18th, 2024. Only cases and deaths reported between 02/01/2020 and 01/14/2024 are included. Total population counts are taken from the 2020 OASIS Single Year of Age dataset. Data in these tabs are statewide, i.e. inclusive of all data collected within Georgia including from those with an out-of-state or unknown residence address. Data from persons with unknown age are excluded.
Cases
COVID-19 cases include both confirmed cases and antigen positive cases. Cases can be sequenced by date reported or symptom onset. Cases are reported through multiple sources including electronic lab reporting (ELR), direct entry into SendSS, faxed case reports, and calls from providers to DPH. Only the first infection of each individual is included.Deaths
COVID-19 deaths include both confirmed deaths and probable deaths. Death plots therefore may appear different from those displayed on the Georgia DPH COVID-19 Status Report (https://dph.georgia.gov/covid-19-status-report), which only shows confirmed deaths. Deaths are sequenced by date of death.Outbreaks
Outbreaks include clusters of cases in any setting reported to or identified by DPH. These numbers may not reflect all clusters due to under-reporting. Clusters include all active and closed investigations. As reported clusters are investigated, those that do not meet the following confirmed outbreak definition will be removed from the data.Measures
Line plots show weekly COVID-related counts by the Monday starting the week and the corresponding rates (per 100,000 population). Where data is preliminary due to lag in reporting or incomplete weeks, dashed lines are used. To focus on particular age groups, click on the legend to remove unneeded lines. Stacked bar plots with counts and rates aggregated over calendar month are also provided for ages 17 years and below. Months with preliminary data have lighter bars.
Tables compare this year’s case data to data from one year ago. They include bar plots showing total COVID-19 cases each week during the 14-week period 10/09/2023 to 01/14/2024 and the equivalent weeks from the previous year, ordered by the Monday starting the week. Note, the y-axis for these plots may scale differently for different age groups but stay identical across the two years. Tables also contain rates (per 100,000 population) over three consecutive 14-day periods. If total COVID-19 cases for an age group during a period is between 1 and 4, that rate will not be calculated and “<5 counts” will be displayed instead.
Outbreaks are displayed in a bar plot arranged by the Monday starting the week they were first reported.
This tab displays trends in COVID-19 cases by residence county and age group.
COVID-19 cases are based on data available in the State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System (SendSS) as of January 18th, 2024. Only cases reported between 02/01/2020 and 01/14/2024 are included. Total population counts are taken from the 2020 OASIS Single Year of Age dataset.
Cases
COVID-19 cases include both confirmed cases and antigen positive cases. Cases are sequenced by date reported. Cases are reported through multiple sources including electronic lab reporting (ELR), direct entry into SendSS, faxed case reports, and calls from providers to DPH. Only the first infection of each individual is included.Measures
Case counts are provided in a table split by residence location (statewide or county) and age group. “Statewide” rows combine all data collected within Georgia, including any reporting an out-of-state or unknown residence address. Persons of unknown age are counted only in rows where Age Group is “All Ages”. The remaining columns are defined as follows:
Syndromic Surveillance (SS) provides a method for timely detection of potential clusters or outbreaks of specified diseases/events (Syndromes). SS data include emergency department (ED) visits based on the patient’s chief complaint upon admission and/or discharge diagnosis. Text and diagnosis codes are searched to identify syndromes which can indicate changes in the number of people seeking care in emergency departments for those diseases or conditions.
This tab uses Covid-19 (COVID) syndromes to analyze trends in ED visits potentially related to COVID-19.
Dates in this tab refer to ED visit date. Only visits occurring through 01/14/2024 are included to account for delays in reporting.
ED Visits
Approximately 90% of Georgia EDs currently report to DPH, most data are available within 72 hours of patient visit. 80% of facilities are currently submitting discharge diagnosis information, final diagnosis may differ from the chief complaint recorded during admission. Changes in counts may vary if a new facility begins reporting to DPH or temporarily stops reporting due to technical issues. Documentation of chief complaint varies by facility. SS data does not necessarily depict the true burden of specified diseases/events. Criteria for syndromes are subject to change as additional information is received.
COVID Syndrome
COVID Syndrome identifies ED visits that refer to COVID-19. It includes chief complaint text for “coronavirus”, “covid”, “c-19”, or “ncov” as well as selected discharge diagnosis codes (ICD or Snomed) relevant to COVID-19 including confirmed COVID-19, suspected/probable COVID-19, unspecified coronavirus infection, exposure to COVID-19, or severe acute respiratory syndrome. COVID Syndrome excludes visits related to Covid-19 testing or exposure with no mention of symptoms.
Since number of visits can be affected by facilities beginning to report or not sending reports on a given day, we present the percent of visits related to COVID to understand the burden of ED visits related to these conditions.
Measures
The line plot shows the weekly percent of all ED visits within the state that were for COVID (COVID visits/total ED visits) by the Monday starting the week, split by age group. Visits from patients of unknown age are excluded. To focus on particular age groups, click on the legend to remove unneeded lines.
County-level data are provided in a table with columns defined below. County refers to each patient’s county of residence. Data from persons of unknown age or unknown county are included in this table. The “Statewide” row combines all data collected within Georgia.
Note: Barplots have a different y-axis range for different age groups and therefore should only be used to compare trends or magnitudes across years