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Barrow County set a new daily high in coronavirus cases Thursday, Dec. 10, with 68 more cases confirmed countywide in the Georgia Department of Public Healthâs daily 3 p.m. update as the numbers around the state, northeast Georgia region and the U.S. continued to skyrocket.
The DPH on Thursday reported a daily-record 6,126 confirmed cases around the state, along with another 1,824 antigen cases. On Friday, Dec. 11, the state reported another 4,775 confirmed cases and 1,650 additional antigen positive cases â bringing the cumulative totals to 466,904 confirmed cases through PCR tests and 64,689 positive cases through antigen tests, also commonly known as rapid diagnostic tests. The state also confirmed another 55 deaths Thursday and 52 Friday, raising the recorded death toll to 9,175.
Just as it appeared courts might be easing back into session in Georgia, cases of coronavirus have surged, prompting some districts to suspend upcoming jury trials. Hall County is among those putting January trials on hold.
Earlier this fall, Georgia s Chief Justice Harold D. Melton had authorized judges to resume grand jury proceedings and jury trials as long as they felt they could do so safely and within health guidelines. On Wednesday, however, Melton signaled judges should be ready to reverse course. COVID-19 conditions are worsening dramatically in many parts of the State, Melton said in his order. While this order does not impose a blanket shutdown of non-essential in-person proceedings, courts should remain vigilant of changing COVID-19 conditions and be prepared to suspend jury trials as necessary and to reconsider grand jury proceedings as well. For those in-person proceedings courts decide to continue, they should do so only if they can maintain the safety of all par