ATLANTA — We're continuing to answer your questions about the COVID-19 data.
Among them, we were asked to look at the changes in the number of people in hospitals in relationship to the number of coronavirus deaths.
There's been a lot of attention on the number of people in the hospital. Since the state started releasing that information on May 1, it's been steadily declining, for the most part. You can see that number represented in the graphic below with the bars in teal. What it means is less strain on our hospital resources.
But, those declining numbers don't necessarily mean people are surviving.
Look at the orange bars. Those are the number of new patients each day, based off the change in the total hospitalizations over time, listed on the Georgia Department of Public Health's dashboard. And over the last week, Georgia has seen an average of 74 new COVID-19 patients hospitalized.
Our viewer wanted to know what happened to the more than 600 patients that are no longer in the hospital? Did they recover? Or did they die?
The short answer is: we can't tell, based on the current data alone.
Here's what we do know about deaths: the numbers are all over the place. If we look at the last seven days, in orange, and average it out, Georgia lost 28 people to the virus each day.
While we can't separate recoveries from deaths, we do know that a significant portion of the people who go to the hospital likely do recover. That's because fewer people are dying than were admitted to the hospital.
If you have a question about the numbers, email us at WhereAtlantaSpeaks@11alive.com.
11Alive is focusing our news coverage on the facts and not the fear around the virus. We want to keep you informed about the latest developments while ensuring that we deliver confirmed, factual information.
We will track the most important coronavirus elements relating to Georgia on this page. Refresh often for new information.