Source: South Georgia Medical Center

VALDOSTA – Local hospitalizations have take a significant upward swing during the past two days.

In 48 hours, South Georgia Medical Center saw a 53% increase in COVID-19 patients, going from 40 Monday to 61 Wednesday, according to its daily report.

Bed capacity for COVID-19 patients at the hospital had previously been cited as 96, according to SGMC officials, meaning 64% of total capacity is in use.

The hospital has seen a steadily increasing rate of COVID-19 patients since mid-June, but the past two days have been the largest jumps in additional SGMC coronavirus patients. Since June, COVID-19 cases have more than tripled. Sixty-one is the highest total of hospitalized patients from the virus SGMC has treated since the pandemic began. 

Not all SGMC patients are Lowndes County residents and some patients who have been transferred from other regional hospitals have tested positive for COVID-19, according to past reports.

In Lowndes County, 39 more COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health daily status report.

The county has reported a total of 1,698 cases since the start of the outbreak, according to the report. Tuesday, the South Health District reported a lower number than the state but the state number continues to rise. 

Total COVID-19 cases in Lowndes have grown 95% since June 20, according to The Valdosta Daily Times COVID-19 database, but a one-to-one comparison with SGMC rates is inconsistent since SGMC treats some non-Lowndes residents.

Hospitalizations in Lowndes have gone up 40% in the same timeframe, according to the database. 102 Lowndes residents have been hospitalized due to COVID-19, since the start of the outbreak, according to the report.

The South Health District still reports 15 residents of Lowndes have died from the virus, according to this COVID-19 update.

The South Health District has performed 13,395 coronavirus tests throughout its 10 counties as of Tuesday and had not yet updated for Wednesday, according to the district COVID-19 website.

SGMC was treating 61 confirmed COVID-19 patients, according to its Wednesday daily report.

SGMC had discharged 187 COVID-19 patients and had one patient waiting for testing results, according to the report. 

Thirty-two SGMC patients have died since the outbreak of the virus. Again, not all SGMC patients are Lowndes County residents.

For more data on Lowndes and the surrounding counties, The Valdosta Daily Times has created a database to track COVID-19 across the South Health District.

To reach the database, click the link here.

This story was updated at 3:33 p.m. July 9.