Georgia

With totals reported Thursday, Georgia is close to 301,000 COVID-19 cases. There also are now 6,474 confirmed deaths caused by the respiratory illness.Georgia's numbers continue mostly to improve, although cases, hospitalizations and deaths remain elevated over June before numbers began to spike. Hospitalizations continue to fall. The number of confirmed cases in hospitals is below…

Makeda Atkinson, 46, was sentenced Tuesday to serve 15½ years in federal prison, according to online court records. Donald Adams, 63, had previously been sentenced in January to serve 10½ years.The two men, both from the port city of Brunswick, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess a controlled substance with intent to distribute, prosecutors…

Georgia also is likely to eclipse 4,000 cumulative deaths this week, as fatalities from COVID-19 have risen in the wake of a prolonged surge in new infections.Data from the state Department of Public Health show a net increase of 3,765 cases and 63 deaths on Wednesday. Cases of the virus appear to have plateaued at…

The most significant addition is a new map showing growth by county in the rate of COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people in the past two weeks. That map, which is like one published daily on The Atlanta Journal-Constitution COVID-19 Dashboard, shows users where cases are growing fastest as adjusted for population.The DPH portal now features…

A Georgia dog is believed to be the second in the country to positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, the state Department of Public Health said Wednesday.  The owners of the 6-year-old mixed breed dog tested positive for the coronavirus, the DPH said. But the dog did not have any evidence of respiratory disease.…