HCHD: More under 50 are Dying from COVID

The Hamilton County Health Department reported 245 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, Sept. 16, bringing the total number of people who have contracted the virus since the beginning of the pandemic to 59,555.

Five more people died from COVID-19 on Thursday, and according to health department officials the age of those dying are more frequently under the age of 50.

Officials said in a Thursday press release that during the most recent winter surge, four percent of deaths were age 50 or younger. Since the beginning of July, 22 percent of deaths have been below the age of 50.

“We extend our sympathy to all of our community members who have lost a loved one to COVID-19,” says Health Department Interim Administrator Sabrina Novak. “A greater number of young people are being hospitalized and dying compared to last year. We strongly recommend that anyone eligible get vaccinated to protect themselves from becoming seriously ill with COVID-19.”

As of Thursday, 594 people have succumbed to the virus.

There were 359 people being treated for COVID in area hospitals. Ninety-one patients were in intensive care units.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 3,496 people were afflicted in East Ridge. There are currently 164 active cases in the city. However, that number has not been updated since Sept. 9.

About Dick Cook

Dick Cook has lived in East Ridge since the Kennedy Administration when his parents bought a house on Marietta Street. Dick graduated from ERHS in 1976 before going on to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he studied Political Science. Dick worked for the Chattanooga Free-Press and the Chattanooga Times Free Press for 22 years. Free-Press Sports Editor Roy Exum plucked him out of production in 1989 and gave him a job as a sports reporter. Dick covered everything from prep sports to the whitewater events on the Ocoee River for the 1996 Olympics. When Chattanooga's two paper's merged, he became the Crime Reporter covering both the Chattanooga Police and Fire Departments. He was among reporters who were honored by the Associated Press for the TFP's coverage of the 2002 fog-shrouded crash on I-75 in Catoosa County, Dick and his wife, Cathy, live on Marlboro Avenue where they are seen frequently chasing around their three grandsons.