ATLANTA — Georgia has added nearly 1,000 COVID-19 cases overnight and is now approaching 55,000 total.

Thursday, the state reported 54,973 confirmed coronavirus cases and 2,375 related deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

That’s up from 53,980 confirmed cases and 2,329 related deaths Wednesday.

The department reports 9,073 people have been hospitalized due to coronavirus and 2,006 people have been admitted into intensive care units; however, the website notes the number could be underreported. 

Also, 578,933 Georgians have been tested for the virus and the state is reporting an 8.6% positive result rate.

The department reported black Georgians account for 17,144 cases while white Georgians account for 18,102 cases. The race of 15,015 cases is listed as unknown.

Last week, the Department of Public Health started updating numbers once daily at 3 p.m. to allow more time to coordinate with reporting facilities and verify numbers before posting.