On Monday, Gov. Brian Kemp announced that Georgia reported the lowest number of ventilators in use and COVID-19 positive patients hospitalized in the state since hospitals began sharing those numbers with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency on April 8.

Kemp reported that as of Monday, 881 ventilators were in use across the state while 1,134 patients were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and 1,987 critical care hospital beds were filled. These numbers appear to show a trend in a positive direction, as they’re down from Friday, May 1, when there were 989 ventilators in use, 1,483 COVID-19 patients hospitalized and 2,119 critical care hospital beds filled in Georgia.

"This data shows that we are headed in the right direction in our battle with COVID-19," Kemp said. "Every day, Georgians are recovering from the virus, freeing up hospital space as we continue to safely reopen our state and ramp up testing and contact tracing. This challenge is far from over. We are not out of the woods yet, so we must remain vigilant in following proper protocols from public health officials. The people of Georgia can rest assured that we are making progress, and together, we will win this fight."

Information on the latest COVID-19 numbers from the Georgia Department of Public Health is available on the DPH website and is now updated daily at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. to enable more consistent reporting and timely data.