Whitfield County boy, 5, dies from COVID-19

Wyatt Gibson, a 5-yearold boy from Murray County, Georgia, and the son of a Whitfield County sheriff’s deputy, died Friday from complications from COVID-19.

Lt. Wes Gibson and his wife, Alexis, mourned their loss in a Facebook post Sunday.

“I have lost my best friend,” Gibson wrote. “Wyatt was nothing [but] joy and happiness. We loved having fun and going on adventures together. He loved his momma and his sister so very much, and he was always looking for ways to help. In a way I know that you’re still here, but I miss you so damn much! I wish this was one adventure that you did not start … ”

Juan Martinez, a fellow employee at the Whitfeld County Sheriff’s Office, called Gibson “a dedicated public servant of Whitfield County that truly cares about our community.

“He is one of the best of us at the Sheriff’s Office,” Martinez wrote.

According to the Georgia Department of Public Health, Wyatt Gibson is the fourth child in the state under the age of 10 to die from COVID-19.

Georgia, along with 46 other states, has seen an increase of COVID-19 cases over the past two weeks, according to New York Times data. Georgia’s 193% rise in cases over the past two weeks exceeds the U.S. average of 140%.

The state ranks 44th in terms of the percentage of its population that is fully vaccinated, at 37.5%, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

A GoFundMe page has raised more than $23,000 to help pay medical bills and funeral costs for the Gibson family.