Georgia has reported its second-highest daily count of coronavirus-related deaths since the pandemic began. Health officials say it's a consequence of the elevated number of infections the state has seen since June. Tuesday’s total of 78 deaths is below only the 100 Georgia deaths reported on April 7.
The state’s overall number of confirmed infections on Tuesday was just below 149,000, while the total number of deaths rose to 3,254. Gov. Brian Kemp is expressing hope that Georgia’s case count might be plateauing. Despite a court fight by Kemp to prevent Atlanta from ordering mask wearing and otherwise going beyond his executive orders, other local jurisdictions continue to adopt mask orders.