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The Georgia Department of Public Health confirmed on Saturday a fifth person from Forsyth County has died from COVID-19 since the novel coronavirus outbreak began.

The individual was identified as an 81-year-old female. It's not known whether she had underlying medical conditions.

Forsyth County had 128 confirmed cases of COVID-19 by Saturday evening, according to the DPH's latest daily status report at 7 p.m., nine more than the previous day. Confirmed cases continue to grow statewide, with 12,261. About 20% of cases have required hospitalization.

Health officials have stressed that confirmed cases do not represent the full picture of COVID-19 in the community due to limited testing. 

In Forsyth County, the victims have ranged in age from 60 to 87. Three have been male and two female. None were known to have underlying medical conditions.

There have been 432 confirmed deaths statewide from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, though official counts likely lag actual deaths due to delays in reporting death certificate data, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Symptoms of COVID-19 can include fever, cough and breathing trouble. Most develop only mild symptoms, but some people, usually those with other medical complications, develop more severe symptoms, including pneumonia, which can be fatal.