East Cobb COVID cases

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

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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.

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Cases surge as East Cobb COVID numbers reach milestones

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East Cobb COVID cases
To click details of each ZIP code and to view a similar map of COVID deaths in Cobb, click here.

By the end of October, 96 deaths from COVID-19 had been reported in East Cobb ZIP codes, and there have been 5,000 confirmed cases of the virus.

Data compiled by Cobb Commissioner Bob Ott and the Georgia Department of Health reflect another rise in the rate of confirmed COVID cases as colder weather approaches.

As of Monday afternoon, there were 22,430 confirmed cases in Cobb County and 460 deaths.

The latter is the second-highest figure in Georgia, as it’s been for a while, with Fulton County having 628 deaths.

What’s causing renewed concern is a resurgence of what public health officials call “community spread.”

When we last posted in early September about those metrics—used by the Cobb County School District to determine when, and how, to reopen for classes—Cobb had just ducked under the “high community spread” designation.

That’s a 14-day average of 100 cases per 100,000 or less, after Cobb’s number was nearly 400 during the summer spike and prompted the Cobb school district’s decision to start the school year online-only.

But that dipping point hasn’t lasted long.

As of Tuesday, Cobb’s 14-day average is now 151 cases per 100,000, and that’s a jump from around 120 just last week.

(You can read the Georgia DPH daily status report by clicking here; it’s updated daily at 3 p.m.)

The above map breaks down COVID cases by ZIP Code, and was last updated Oct. 31. Ott said he’s doing this once a week because the numbers don’t change that much.

You can click here to get more details and to switch to a COVID deaths map that also shows COVID data in long-term care homes.

Here’s what those numbers look like in East Cobb for the moment:

  • 30062: 1,499 cases, 23 deaths
  • 30066: 1,364 cases, 24 deaths
  • 30067: 1,336 cases, 15
  • 30068: 741 cases, 32
  • 30075: 154 cases, 2 deaths

The Cobb school district provides a weekly update of COVID cases, and last week there were nine schools in East Cobb where staff or students had confirmed cases.

By early September the 7-day moving average of cases in Cobb County began to drop, going by what’s called “date of onset.” That’s data showing the date of a confirmed case, not the day it was reported.

That average (seen in the yellow line below) fell from 108 to 55 by the end of September, and as of Oct. 20 is at 68.4. Onset numbers since that 14-day window are considered preliminary and are occasionally updated with later reports.

Cobb COVID Cases 7-day average onset 11.3.20
To view more details from the Georgia DPH daily status report, click here.

Similar data from Georgia DPH about deaths in Cobb County shows a similar pattern. In late September, the 7-day moving average of deaths according to the date of death had reached zero, after being as high as 4.9 in July.

As of Oct. 20, that 7-day figure was 0.6, after having been at 1.1 on Oct. 7.

As has been the case since the summer, the vast majority of confirmed COVID-19 cases are being reported between the ages of 18-59 (as shown below, with data compiled by Ott).

Cobb COVID cases by age 11.3.20

A little deeper into the numbers among the youngest ones, with some school-age breakdowns:

There have been 213 cases between 0-4 years old; 306 cases between 5-9 years old; and 1,097 cases between 10-17 years old.

Only two deaths have been reported in Cobb between the ages of 0-17 years old.

The deaths remain overwhelmingly among those who are older and/or who have multiple serious health issues.

Of the 460 deaths in Cobb, 340 are among those ages 70 and older, and 384 had known comorbidities.

Cobb COVID deaths by age 11.3.20

On Tuesday Georgia will reach another milestone. As of Monday there have been 7,999 COVID-19 deaths in the state, and 362,921 cases.

Cobb County Government also has its own COVID hub with data, maps and other details of deaths, cases, hospitalization and demographic information relating to the virus.

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