» Georgia’s new death toll rises to more than 3,000,

Georgia reached 3,001 COVID-19-related deaths on Sunday, with the state Department of Public Health also reporting 116,926 confirmed coronavirus cases.

What’s happening

The department releases new numbers around 3 p.m. each day. On Saturday, Georgia’s death toll stood at 2,996, and five new deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours.

The numbers were reported in the same day Florida shattered the national record for the largest single-day increase in positive coronavirus cases in any state since the pandemic’s beginning, adding more than 15,000 cases as its daily average death toll continued to rise.

On Friday, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms reinstated Phase 1 reopening guidelines after a steady surge in coronavirus cases. Under the guidelines, residents should wear face masks, restaurants should close dining rooms, nonessential city facilities should close and individuals are encouraged to leave home only for essential trips.

Governor’s reaction to Bottoms’ mandate

The rollback order came despite Gov. Brian Kemp’s criticism the city’s Phase 1 guidelines are unenforceable. Kemp’s executive orders legally supersede the mayor’s guidelines.

“Mayor Bottoms’ action today is merely guidance — both nonbinding and legally unenforceable. As clearly stated in the Governor’s executive order, no local action can be more or less restrictive, and that rule applies statewide,” the governor said.

Bottoms announced last week that she tested positive for COVID-19, then signed an executive order mandating face coverings in public Wednesday.

In Florida, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded.

JOHN SPINK / JSPINK@AJC.COM Grady Hospital CMO Robert Jansen has noted recent hospitalizations have more than doubled. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms has mandated that masks be worn in public.