Cobb Coronavirus deaths reach 17; average age is 72.3 years

Cobb Commissioners Coronavirus meeting

The Georgia Department of Public Health is gradually revealing more details about those who contract and die from Coronavirus.

As of noon Thursday, the number of people in the state who’ve died from COVID-19 was 163, with 5,348 confirmed cases. The number of hospitalizations is 1,056, a rate of nearly 20 percent.

Cobb County remains among the hotspots in Georgia, with 320 cases and 17 deaths, along with Fulton, DeKalb and Dougherty.

The DPH daily status report can be found here; it is updated at noon and 7 p.m.

A new statistical line being provided now is a breakdown of those who’ve died from the virus. The report indicates the age and sex of each person, and whether they have any underlying medical issues.

For the 17 Cobb victims, the average age is 72.3 years, and 13 of the deceased are males. The oldest was a 92-year-old woman, and the youngest was a 33-year-old man. The report states it’s unknown whether they had other medical issues.

Five are in their 80s, three are in their 70s, three are in their 60s and one is in his 50s. The age of one of the Cobb victims is unknown.

Cobb COVID 3.30.20 heat map — *Cobb COVID cases mapped out by Cobb & Douglas Public Health on March 30.*

Various states have been providing different information to the public; in Georgia, the exact locations of victims below the county level generally haven’t been released.

But during a special meeting of the Cobb Board of Commissioners Wednesday, Dr. Janet Memark, director of Cobb and Douglas Public Health, showed heat maps of the increase in COVID-19 cases over the month of March.

She said the heat maps are not exact, but the cases are spread out fairly evenly through the county.

Among the positive cases is a resident at the Sterling Estates senior community in East Cobb, which has been placed on lockdown.

Memark and deputy director Lisa Crossman stressed to commissioners that what they’re seeing is what’s occurring all over the country—widespread community transmission.

They’re asking for non-essential “personal touch” businesses to be closed, and for parks and pools to remain closed.

Cobb Commission Chairman Mike Boyce is expected to tighten the restrictions of a county emergency declaration he issued last week.

That may be superseded, however, by what happens statewide.

Later Wednesday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to announce details of a shelter-in-place order that takes effect Friday through April 13. Schools also have been closed for the rest of the academic year; the Cobb County School District is expected to provide further academic guidance on Thursday.