As 2020 nears end, East Cobb COVID-19 cases approach 9,000

East Cobb COVID cases — *To view details of cases and deaths by ZIP code, **click here** for a swipe map.*

A couple days’ worth of data remains to be added, but the last full week of 2020 saw another big jump of reported cases of COVID-19 in East Cobb.

On Dec. 22 we posted a ZIP Code map update showing 8,038 cases in East Cobb, and 120 deaths, since the pandemic began in March.

According to Commissioner Bob Ott’s latest numbers posted late Tuesday, 795 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported since then, and two more deaths:

30062: 2,579 cases, 31 deaths
30066: 2,383, 31 deaths
30067: 2,202 cases, 24 deaths
30068: 1,353 cases, 34 deaths
30075: 306 cases, 2 deaths

A total of 36 deaths have been reported in long-term care facilities.

Those numbers are part of a larger Cobb County total of 36,240 cases and 549 deaths, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

The Georgia DPH Daily Status Report also indicates a growing rate of community spread, with a 14-day average of 631 cases per 100,000 people in Cobb County.

A week ago, that number was 601, and it’s much higher than the “high community spread” threshold of a 14-day average of 100 cases per 100,000.

Over the last two weeks, according to Georgia DPH, more than 5,000 new cases have been confirmed in Cobb County, and more than 70,000 across the state.

On Wednesday, 433 more cases were reported in Cobb, according to “date of report.” It’s a metric that includes a backlog of cases, and was punctuated last week by a high-water mark of 611 cases on Dec. 24.

Across Georgia, 5,496 new cases were reported, and 49 new deaths were confirmed on Wednesday.

For the year, there have been 558,177 COVID-19 cases in Georgia and 9,808 deaths.

A more precise indicator for case totals is “date of onset,” or the date when a person reports having COVID symptoms.

That number has been rising sharply in recent weeks as well, with a record 502 cases in Cobb on Dec. 14 and 465 on Dec. 15. That metric comes with a 14-day window, and the 7-day moving average of cases dating back to Dec. 16 is 362, the highest figure recorded since the pandemic began in March.

According to Cobb and Douglas Public Health, 77.4 percent of those in the county with confirmed COVID-19 cases are between the ages of 15-59.

However, the elderly comprise the strong majority of those dying from the virus, with 86.7 percent being 60 and older.

Those 80 and over who have died are 41.8 percent of all the COVID fatalities in Cobb, and 30.1 percent are between 70-79.

According to Ott’s figures, of the 549 Cobb deaths, 460 of those people had known underlying health issues, 57 did not and it was not known whether the other 30 had comorbidities.