The Georgia Department of Public Health reported the death of a 15-year-old Gwinnett County boy from coronavirus Saturday.
The teen becomes the fourth person under age 20 to die from the virus in Georgia and the second youngest person to die statewide. The youngest person to die from coronavirus was a 7-year-old boy from Chatham County.
According to the Department of Public Health, the 15-year-old had underlying conditions. A 17-year-old from Fulton County and a 19-year-old from Cobb County are also among the four youngest to die in Georgia. Both had underlying conditions. The 7-year-old did not have any underlying conditions.
In other news, the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Cherokee County schools has prompted the closure of another high school in the county. In a letter to parents sent on behalf of the school superintendent Brian High Tower, the school district announced that Creekview High School would be closed until August 31 due to the mounting number of students in quarantine.
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Creekview has 1,800 students and 500 of them are now in quarantine. There have been 25 positive COVID-19 tests throughout the school. The school’s students will switch to online learning until the school reopens.
Monday is the start of the third week of school in Cherokee County and three of the school district’s six high schools have closed.
The average number of new cases per day in Cherokee County have been dropping for three consecutive days. Prior to that, they had jumped up for several days.
The county currently has 3,981 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 370 hospitalizations and 67 deaths.
In the letter to parents, the school district reminded parents that behavior outside the schools impacts whether or not the schools remain open.
“We need everyone to work together to help us continue to operate schools in-person for the more than 31,000 students whose families want this choice and who have been sending their children to school since we reopened two weeks ago,” the letter said. “What happens in our community outside of our schools impacts what happens inside our schools and our ability to keep schools open.
“We need you to please: stay home when you’re sick (use this checklist: https://bit.ly/CDCchecks); get tested if you’re symptomatic; report your child’s positive test to their school; if you are directed to quarantine, follow the instructions and limit interaction with non-family members; social distance when you can and wear a mask when you can’t.”
Statewide, Georgia has 237,030 confirmed cases of coronavirus, 22,087 hospitalizations and 4,702 deaths.
