First State Times

There were less than 10 deaths with COVID-19 listed as the underlying cause reported in Delaware during the week ending March 5, a decrease from the previous week, according to The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

In the week ending March 5, there were 137 deaths in the state. 15.3% of deaths were caused by heart disease, 17.5% were from cancer and 8.8% were from COVID-19.

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)	24	49
Heart disease	21	32
Cerebrovascular diseases	12	17
COVID-19 (multiple cause)	12	19
Chronic lower respiratory diseases	11	10
Diabetes mellitus	10	< 10
Influenza and pneumonia	< 10	< 10
Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and nephrosis	< 10	< 10
Alzheimer's disease	< 10	< 10
COVID-19 (underlying cause)	< 10	16