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New COVID-19 report reveals state erred in reporting death of 11-year-old in DeKalb County

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New COVID-19 report reveals state erred in reporting death of 11-year-old in DeKalb County

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This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2—also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus that causes COVID-19—isolated from a patient in the U.S. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name. Public domain image obtained via https://www.niaid.nih.gov/news-events/novel-coronavirus-sarscov2-images
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Atlanta, GA – An April 2 report from the Georgia Department of Public Health about COVID-19 contained information that shocked and saddened our readers.

The report, provided at 7 p.m. on April 2, said an 11-year-old in DeKalb County with underlying conditions had died, but that report was a mistake, a spokesperson for the Health Department said.

“It appears that it was a clerical error by the reporting facility,” the spokesperson said. “After a review of medical records and a number of phone calls, there is no record of an 11-year-old dying from COVID-19.”

The spokesperson said errors in reporting COVID-19 data are not uncommon.

“It happens – I haven’t seen it quite so obvious, or unfortunate, with an age,” the spokesperson said. “Sometimes the wrong county is entered, and you might see a county with one total one day and then it goes down the next due to the correction being made.”

Decaturish and other media outlets reported the story and Decaturish has updated its original story. During this stressful time, we know accurate information is critical and that mistakes erode the trust you place in us. While we take responsibility for everything we publish, our COVID-19 stories are more reliant on government sources than other stories we cover. The data provided by the state is difficult to independently verify due to medical privacy laws. After the story was published, a reporter reached out to the county Medical Examiner. Medical Examiner’s Office Director Patrick Bailey said that that office wouldn’t necessarily receive a report about a COVID-19 death.

“A review of our records did not indicate this case was reported to our office,” Bailey said. “However, if the child had been in a medical facility for more than 24 hours and had a documented medical history, which may have included a COVID-19 diagnosis, it would not be a reportable case to a Medical Examiners and/or Coroners Office. Additionally, if there were no reported or observed traumatic injuries and/or suspicious circumstances, no reporting is required.”

Bailey said not all deaths are required to be reported to the Medical Examiner.

“Under the Georgia Death Investigation Act, not all deaths are required to be reported,” Bailey said. “Simply, if someone is in a medical facility and is receiving care from a physician, it currently is not required to be reported to a Medical Examiner or Coroner’s Office. The only exception is if the decedent was admitted due to no known documented medical history, traumatic, unusual, and/or suspicious circumstances.”

A spokesperson for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta informed Decaturish the information about the 11-year-old boy had been removed when a reporter asked for additional information.

Last month, Decaturish published an editorial noting that due to the pace and scope of this event, there would be mistakes in coverage. This is true for any media outlet covering this unprecedented event.

To prevent additional erroneous reports about fatalities, we will take the following steps to improve our coverage.

1) All reports will now contain a caveat that the information is being provided by the Department of Public Health is presumed to be accurate.

2) Any report of a minor dying from COVID-19 will receive additional reporting follow up, if possible, to determine whether that report is in error. These reports will no longer be the focus of a story until they are independently verified.

3) The state provides information about COVID-19 deaths twice a day: at noon and at 7 p.m. We will stop publishing two articles a day about the state’s COVID-19 cases and deaths and will instead write one article per day. That article will reflect the information contained in the state’s mid-day COVID-19 report. This will change the frequency of our reporting from two stories every 24-hours to one story every 24-hours. We hope this will give the state extra time to sift through and correct any errors in its data. It will also give us additional time to further investigate any reports that we have questions about. These sorts of inquiries are easier to conduct in the morning when people are more likely to answer their phones and respond to emails.

We realize that this will mean other media outlets will have certain stories before we do, but we think this is a necessary step to take to limit future errors in our coverage. Unfortunately, there will be errors in the future as there are with any breaking news story. All errors will be corrected immediately and prominently. While our fact-checking process is rigid, there are variables with this particular story that we cannot account for. Any errors in our reporting will make us reassess how we are covering this story and will help us improve our coverage going forward.

With that said, here’s the Health Department’s most recent COVID-19 report, published at noon on April 3. These updates rely on data provided by the state of Georgia about COVID-19 cases and that information is presumed to be accurate.

There are now 5,831 COVID-19 cases in Georgia. There have been 184 COVID-19 related deaths and 1,158 hospitalizations related to the virus.

There have been eight deaths in DeKalb County.

COVID-19 Confirmed Cases:No. Cases (%)
Total5831 (100%)
Hospitalized1158(19.86%)
Deaths184 (3.16%)
COVID-19 Confirmed Cases By County:No. CasesNo. Deaths
Fulton88223
Dougherty56030
Dekalb4488
Cobb38118
Gwinnett3298
Clayton1956
Bartow1543
Carroll1432
Henry1253
Lee1158
Cherokee1045
Hall790
Floyd772
Douglas714
Rockdale632
Forsyth601
Sumter593
Chatham583
Fayette584
Clarke578
Coweta532
Houston535
Richmond501
Terrell502
Early481
Mitchell431
Paulding420
Newton401
Colquitt342
Bibb321
Columbia320
Muscogee300
Tift300
Worth301
Lowndes281
Troup261
Crisp230
Glynn230
Spalding231
Barrow212
Gordon212
Oconee190
Thomas170
Polk160
Walton160
Ware162
Coffee150
Laurens150
Whitfield151
Pierce140
Dawson130
Bryan121
Decatur120
Dooly120
Jackson120
Turner120
Baldwin101
Calhoun101
Meriwether100
Butts90
Greene90
Peach91
Pickens91
Burke80
Fannin80
Randolph80
Clay70
Haralson70
Harris70
Liberty70
Lumpkin70
Murray70
Bacon60
Camden60
Catoosa60
Effingham60
Irwin60
Jones60
Lamar60
Monroe60
Pulaski60
Seminole60
Upson60
Washington60
Brooks50
Bulloch50
Dodge50
Franklin50
Lincoln50
Madison51
Mcduffie51
Miller50
Stephens50
Toombs51
Baker41
Schley40
Warren40
Appling30
Banks30
Ben Hill30
Berrien30
Chattooga30
Grady30
Hart30
Pike30
Tattnall30
Walker30
White30
Wilkes30
Chattahoochee20
Clinch20
Habersham20
Heard21
Jasper20
Jefferson20
Jenkins20
Macon20
Mcintosh20
Morgan20
Putnam20
Rabun20
Screven20
Talbot20
Taylor20
Telfair20
Twiggs20
Wilcox20
Bleckley10
Candler10
Charlton10
Cook10
Dade11
Elbert10
Emanuel10
Gilmer10
Johnson10
Lanier10
Long10
Marion10
Oglethorpe11
Quitman10
Stewart10
Towns10
Union10
Webster10
Wheeler10
Wilkinson10
Unknown5074
*Based on patient county of residence when known
COVID-19 Testing By Lab Type:No. Pos. TestsTotal Tests
Commercial Lab542822960
Gphl4032305

COVID-19 Deaths in Georgia

AgeGenderCountyUnderlying
95MALEBAKERUnk
53MALEBALDWINYes
91FEMALEBARROWYes
66MALEBARROWYes
90MALEBARTOWYes
69MALEBARTOWYes
85MALEBARTOWYes
96FEMALEBIBBYes
65MALEBRYANUnk
FEMALECALHOUNUnk
MALECARROLLUnk
71FEMALECARROLLUnk
80FEMALECHATHAMYes
83MALECHATHAMYes
84FEMALECHATHAMYes
81MALECHEROKEEYes
67FEMALECHEROKEEYes
78FEMALECHEROKEEYes
94FEMALECHEROKEEYes
78FEMALECHEROKEEYes
60MALECLARKEYes
78FEMALECLARKEUnk
79MALECLARKEYes
68MALECLARKEUnk
89FEMALECLARKENo
78FEMALECLARKEYes
98MALECLARKEYes
79MALECLARKEYes
83FEMALECLAYTONYes
47MALECLAYTONYes
69MALECLAYTONYes
49FEMALECLAYTONUnk
67MALECLAYTONUnk
82MALECLAYTONYes
87MALECOBBYes
82MALECOBBUnk
71MALECOBBYes
33MALECOBBUnk
MALECOBBYes
67MALECOBBNo
86MALECOBBUnk
65MALECOBBYes
68MALECOBBYes
75MALECOBBYes
67FEMALECOBBYes
67MALECOBBYes
77MALECOBBYes
56MALECOBBNo
85FEMALECOBBYes
82MALECOBBYes
63FEMALECOBBYes
51MALECOBBYes
83FEMALECOLQUITTUnk
FEMALECOLQUITTUnk
77MALECOWETAYes
42FEMALECOWETAYes
79FEMALEDADEYes
31MALEDEKALBYes
91FEMALEDEKALBYes
81MALEDEKALBYes
65FEMALEDEKALBYes
FEMALEDEKALBYes
69MALEDEKALBYes
89FEMALEDEKALBYes
91MALEDEKALBYes
69FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
67FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
42FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
66FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
43FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
79MALEDOUGHERTYYes
78MALEDOUGHERTYUnk
85FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
60FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
53FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
34MALEDOUGHERTYYes
65FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
MALEDOUGHERTYUnk
92FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
71MALEDOUGHERTYYes
61FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
82FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
84MALEDOUGHERTYUnk
66FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
68FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
46MALEDOUGHERTYUnk
76DOUGHERTYUnk
48FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
87FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
77MALEDOUGHERTYUnk
79FEMALEDOUGHERTYUnk
65MALEDOUGHERTYYes
45FEMALEDOUGHERTYYes
75MALEDOUGHERTYUnk
61MALEDOUGHERTYUnk
56MALEDOUGLASUnk
84MALEDOUGLASUnk
78MALEDOUGLASYes
66MALEDOUGLASNo
48FEMALEEARLYYes
83MALEFAYETTEYes
79MALEFAYETTEYes
51FEMALEFAYETTENo
77FEMALEFAYETTEYes
65FEMALEFLOYDYes
75MALEFLOYDYes
87MALEFORSYTHUnk
68MALEFULTONYes
58MALEFULTONYes
68FEMALEFULTONYes
62MALEFULTONYes
90FEMALEFULTONUnk
70FEMALEFULTONYes
66FEMALEFULTONUnk
70FEMALEFULTONYes
89MALEFULTONYes
59MALEFULTONYes
63MALEFULTONYes
81MALEFULTONYes
86FEMALEFULTONYes
MALEFULTONYes
FEMALEFULTONUnk
33MALEFULTONUnk
78MALEFULTONYes
82MALEFULTONYes
78MALEFULTONYes
73FEMALEFULTONYes
62MALEFULTONYes
75MALEFULTONUnk
85MALEFULTONUnk
69MALEGORDONYes
78MALEGORDONYes
75MALEGWINNETTUnk
69FEMALEGWINNETTYes
81FEMALEGWINNETTYes
85FEMALEGWINNETTYes
80MALEGWINNETTUnk
85MALEGWINNETTYes
66MALEGWINNETTUnk
81MALEGWINNETTUnk
76FEMALEHEARDUnk
80MALEHENRYYes
73MALEHENRYUnk
63FEMALEHENRYUnk
75MALEHOUSTONYes
90MALEHOUSTONYes
85MALEHOUSTONUnk
64MALEHOUSTONYes
84MALEHOUSTONYes
FEMALELEEUnk
57MALELEEUnk
58MALELEEYes
49MALELEEYes
64FEMALELEEYes
55FEMALELEEYes
54MALELEEYes
68FEMALELEEYes
66MALELOWNDESYes
71MALEMADISONYes
MCDUFFIEUnk
89FEMALEMITCHELLYes
61MALENEWTONYes
83MALEOGLETHORPEUnk
29FEMALEPEACHUnk
76FEMALEPICKENSYes
81FEMALERICHMONDUnk
44FEMALEROCKDALEYes
57FEMALEROCKDALEYes
73MALESPALDINGYes
73MALESUMTERYes
73MALESUMTERYes
63MALESUMTERYes
75MALETERRELLYes
73FEMALETERRELLUnk
77MALETOOMBSYes
61FEMALETROUPYes
92FEMALEUNKNOWNYes
68FEMALEUNKNOWNUnk
66MALEUNKNOWNUnk
84FEMALEUNKNOWNUnk
44MALEWAREYes
82FEMALEWAREUnk
93MALEWHITFIELDYes
48MALEWORTHUnk

Coronavirus symptoms can appear two to 14 days after exposure and include:

– Fever

– Cough

– Shortness of breath

The CDC says the following symptoms require emergency medical attention:

– Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath

– Persistent pain or pressure in the chest

– New confusion or inability to arouse

– Bluish lips or face

Here are the recommendations on coronavirus prevention from the DeKalb County Board of Health:

– Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

– Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.

– Avoid close contact with people who are sick.

– Stay home when you are sick.

– Cough or sneeze into your elbow or use a tissue to cover it, then throw the tissue in the trash.

– Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

For more information from the Centers for Disease Control, click here.

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Decaturish.com is working to keep your community informed about coronavirus, also known as COVID-19. All of our coverage on this topic can be found at Decaturishscrubs.com. If you appreciate our work on this story, please become a paying supporter. For as little as $3 a month, you can help us keep you in the loop about what your community is doing to stop the spread of COVID-19. To become a supporter, click here

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