ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Health Department reported eight new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, making 23 this week.
The Health Department announced five cases each on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Since the first case was announced on April 7, the county has seen a total of 252 cases, with 179 having recovered so far.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which pulls its data around 5 a.m. each day, only showed 246 total cases for Richmond County.
There are currently 68 active cases, with six patients hospitalized and 62 under home isolation.
Health and Human Services Director Dr. Tommy Jarrell told the RO by email on Wednesday that the spread of the virus is “happening more by community spread at this point.”
Dairy Queen in Rockingham shut down for “deep cleaning” this weekend after one employee reportedly tested positive, according to a note left on the door. As of Thursday, the doors were still shut.
“The Health Department does not identify every business of positive cases,” Jarrell said, adding that while businesses are not required to inform the public of an employee testing positive, most do.
As of June 24, 2,323 Richmond County residents had been tested for the coronavirus— 442 in the week since June 16 — with 2,029 tests coming back negative, according to the Health Department. The number of negative tests the following day had risen to 2,056.
A graph from DHHS shows the daily number of positive tests across the state has been up and down, as has the number of completed tests.
The state hit its second-highest number of confirmed cases in one day at 1,721 on Wednesday before dropping back down to just over 1,000 new cases on Thursday.
Also on Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper issued an order to require face coverings in public, with several exemptions, and extended Phase 2 until at least July 17. The order goes into effect at 5 p.m. Friday, June 26.
The N.C. House of Representatives also failed to override Cooper’s veto of House Bill 594, which would have allowed gyms and bars, many of which have been closed since March, to re-open.
Rep. Scott Brewer, D-Richmond, was one of the 66 Democratic representatives to vote no. Only one, Rep. Michael Wray of Northampton County, sided with Republicans in the override.
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of cases per age group are as follows:
- 0-18 – 27
- 19-30 – 46
- 31-40 – 35
- 41-50 – 46
- 50-64 – 61
- 65-older – 37
The number of cases per ZIP code are as follows:
- Rockingham – 150 (113 recovered)
- Hamlet – 67 (53 recovered)
- Ellerbe – 20 (9 recovered)
- Hoffman – 14 (3 recovered)
- Mount Gilead – 1 – recovered
Union County has now surpassed the 1,000-case mark with 1,042, according to DHHS. It joins several other counties with more than 1,000 cases. While most are urban, there are a few rural counties in the mix: Mecklenburg, Wake, Durham, Guilford, Forsyth, Randolph, Robeson, Johnston, Wayne, Duplin, Cumberland and Rowan.
Several other counties are getting close: Cabarrus has 936; Burke has 954; Sampson has 947; Chatham has 910.
The total numbers (including recoveries) for surrounding counties are as follows:
- Stanly – 308
- Montgomery – 269
- Anson – 115
- Moore – 418
- Hoke – 337
- Scotland – 130
All numbers except Moore are from DHHS, which is from the local health department, as there is a discrepancy with the state. DHHS is reporting more than 20 fewer than the county.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, which last updated its numbers on June 24, is reporting 338 cases in Chesterfield County and 290 in Marlboro County.
