Jonesboro, Riverdale lead COVID-19 case counts

by Robin Kemp

The cities and unincorporated areas of Jonesboro and Riverdale account for more than half the COVID-19 cases in Clayton County, which as of May 21 has lost 42 people to the disease. 1,047 have tested positive to date, while 167 have been hospitalized, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

As of May 20, the Clayton County Board of Health reported the following case counts for each city. People whose city of residence has yet to be confirmed are accounted for under “Missing.”

Here are the state’s general descriptions of the people behind the numbers–our neighbors, friends, relatives, coworkers–who have lost their lives to COVID-19.

If someone you know died of COVID-19, we would like to include a tribute to them on our memorial wall. Just e-mail us a photo, the person’s birth and death dates, and a little information about who they were.

AGE	SEX	UNDERLYING CONDITION
90+	FEMALE	Unknown
89	MALE	Unknown
86	FEMALE	Unknown
85	FEMALE	Unknown
84	FEMALE	Unknown
83	FEMALE	Yes
82	MALE	Yes
82	MALE	Yes
81	FEMALE	Yes
77	MALE	Unknown
76	MALE	Unknown
75	FEMALE	Yes
75	FEMALE	Unknown
75	FEMALE	Unknown
74	FEMALE	Unknown
71	FEMALE	Unknown
70	MALE	No
67	FEMALE	Yes
67	MALE	No
64	FEMALE	Unknown
64	MALE	Yes
63	MALE	Yes
63	FEMALE	Unknown
63	FEMALE	Unknown
60	MALE	Unknown
57	FEMALE	No
57	FEMALE	Unknown
56	MALE	Yes
55	FEMALE	Yes
55	MALE	Yes
54	MALE	Yes
52	MALE	Yes
51	FEMALE	No
50	MALE	Yes
49	FEMALE	Yes
49	FEMALE	Yes
49	FEMALE	Unknown
48	MALE	Unknown
47	MALE	Yes
44	MALE	Unknown
39	FEMALE	Unknown
38	MALE	Yes

On May 21, Gov. Brian Kemp apologized for ongoing issues with COVID-19 data reporting, attributing the errors to pressure on state health officials to update figures quickly. Beyond accounting for the stray case here or there that may affect local counts, the Georgia Department of Public Health came under fire for including 57,000 antibody tests in the viral test count.