ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Health Department on Tuesday announced the sixth COVID-related death is as many days.
According to a press release, the death occurred within the past 24 hours.
The Health Department previously announced two deaths last Thursday, and one each on Friday, Saturday and Monday.
This brings the county’s total number of COVID-related deaths to 85 since the first was reported in April 2020. There have been 32 so far this year— nine this month and 23 in January. There were also 15 in October and 13 in December of 2020.
It appears the county resident died in a hospital, which makes 59 to pass away in that setting. Twenty-two of the deaths have occurred in another health care facility and four have happened outside of a health setting, according to the Health Department.
The race and gender breakdown is as follows: 15 African American females, 12 African American males, two “other race” females, one “other race,” male, two Hispanic females, two American Indian males, 26 Caucasian females and 25 Caucasian males.
All patients have been between the ages of 31 and 95: 23 have been 80 or older; 26 have been in their 70s; 25 in their 60s; 10 in their 50s; and one who was 31.
Judging from previous reports, it appears the latest death was that of a Caucasian woman in her 70s.
There have been 10,501 COVID-related deaths in North Carolina as of Feb. 15, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Tuesday’s numbers have not yet been released. The state topped the 10,000 mark on Feb. 9.
According to Johns Hopkins University, as of 11 a.m. Feb. 16, the U.S. leads the world’s nations in COVID-related deaths with 486,4673 — more than 1,000 in the past 22 hours. The U.S. has had more than twice the number of deaths in Brazil, which is second with 239,773 There have been 2,410,772 worldwide.
Local and statewide hospitalizations, as well as daily case numbers, have been on a downward trend in recent weeks.
