Old Dominion News

There were 69 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Virginia during the week ending March 5, a 42.5% decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 1,009 deaths in the state. 19.6% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 20.1% were from cancer and 16.4% were from COVID-19. Additionally, 11.4% of deaths were from Alzheimer's disease and dementia.

Studies show doctors and medical examiners may underreport Alzheimer's disease and dementia-related conditions as the underlying cause of death on death certificates, according to the National Institute on Aging.

Once infected, older adults with dementia are likely to develop a more severe and dangerous illness. The diseases which make an older adult more vulnerable to COVID-19 are age-associated chronic conditions, according to the Bright Focus Foundation.

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Malignant neoplasms (cancerous tumor)	203	214
Heart disease	198	219
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	96	146
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	69	120
Cerebrovascular diseases	54	64
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	46	46
Alzheimer's disease	32	36
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	30	24
Diabetes mellitus	27	32
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	19

Cause of Death	Deaths in Week Ending March 5	Deaths in Week Ending Feb. 26
Alzheimer disease and dementia	115	134