ATLANTA — Georgia added nearly 3,500 confirmed coronavirus cases to its total count on Thursday, the largest single-day increase the state has experienced.

Georgia has seen a sharp increase in confirmed cases as well as people hospitalized in recent weeks.

Nearly 88,000 total confirmed cases of the virus have been recorded by the Georgia Department of Public Health. At least 2,849 people in Georgia have died.

There were 1,649 people hospitalized with the virus in Georgia Thursday, up from 1,135 a week earlier.

“We are in exponential growth with rapidly rising infections,” Dr. Carlos del Rio, an infectious disease expert at Emory University, tweeted Thursday. “I am very concerned of our trajectory as we head into the 4th of July weekend,” del Rio said as he urged people to wear a mask and practice social distancing.