GA's First Pediatric Coronavirus Death Reported In Fulton County

FULTON COUNTY, GA — Georgia has marked its first pediatric death from the coronavirus, the Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed on its coronavirus web page.

A 17-year-old male from Fulton County has died from the coronavirus, and did have a chronic condition, the Department of Public Health said. No other information was confirmed, aside from the teen dying from coronavirus complications.

As of 1 p.m. Tuesday, the Georgia Department of Public Health counted 43,730 confirmed cases of COVID-19, with 1,871 deaths. This is an increase of 386 new cases since Monday at 1 p.m., and 41 new deaths.

This is the 10th death in Georgia of people under the age of 30. The second youngest person to have died from the coronavirus was a 22-year-old woman from Muscogee County, also with a chronic condition.

As of Tuesday at 1 p.m., there are 854 Georgians currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Georgia has seen a more than 40 percent drop in this statistic since May 1.

More than 514,000 tests are reported to have been administered so far. More than 7,500 Georgians have been hospitalized for COVID-19, with more than 1,700 of them admitted to an intensive-care unit for it.

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The Centers for Disease Control said that, "based on available evidence, children do not appear to be at higher risk for COVID-19 than adults."

The CDC said it is investigating cases of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19.

Take steps to protect children and others, from the CDC:

Help stop the spread of COVID-19 by doing the same things everyone should do to stay healthy. Teach your children to do the same.

• Clean hands often using soap and water or alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
• Avoid people who are sick (coughing and sneezing).
• Put distance between your children and other people outside of your home. Keep children at least 6-feet from other people.
• If children meet in groups, it can put everyone at risk. Children can pass this virus onto others who may be at higher risk, including older adults and people who have serious underlying medical conditions.
• Children 2 years and older should wear a cloth face covering over their nose and mouth when in public settings where it’s difficult to practice social distancing. This is an additional public health measure people should take to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in addition to (not instead of) the other everyday preventive actions listed above.
• Clean and disinfect high-touch surfaces daily in household common areas (like tables, hard-backed chairs, doorknobs, light switches, remotes, handles, desks, toilets, and sinks).
• Launder items including washable plush toys as needed. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If possible, launder items using the warmest appropriate water setting and dry items completely. Dirty laundry from an ill person can be washed with other people’s items.

You can find additional information on preventing COVID-19 at How to Protect Yourself and at Preventing COVID-19 Spread in Communities. Additional information on how COVID-19 is spread is available at How COVID-19 Spreads.