ATLANTA — UPDATE: The press conference has concluded. You can watch Gov. Kemp's remarks above.
Dr. Kathleen Toomey, the state public health commissioner, also spoke and stressed the need for everyone to get a flu shot this year.
"Get a flu shot, never has it been more important to get a flu shot than this yea," she said. "We realize that people sometimes don’t think a flu shot is effective, or they're afraid to get it or they just don’t bother, but it's particularly important this year. We're trying to protect twindemics of COVID and influenza, which could be devastating."
Original story below
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp provided an update on the state's COVID-19 progress this morning.
Kemp will be joined by the Georgia Department of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.
The last time both Toomey and Kemp answered press questions together on COVID-19 was August 10 with the surgeon general at the opening of the Super testing site at the airport.
The briefing will be held at 9 a.m. at the State Capitol building. 11Alive will cover the governor's briefing and will provide any updates that we receive.
The latest report from the White House coronavirus task force from this week said that the pandemic in Georgia is continuing to improve - with fewer daily cases - but it warned that testing statewide must ramp up.
The report indicated that in order to sustain the gains, strong mitigation efforts should continue statewide along with mitigation efforts in university towns. This would help decrease spread from colleges to the local community.
As of Tuesday, the department of public health reported only 936 new COVID-19 cases, below the recent state average. Hospitalizations in Georgia also appear to be holding steady.
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.