ROCKINGHAM — Although new COVID case numbers continue to rise, the Richmond County Health Department will no longer offer on-site testing.
Health Director Cheryl Speight said the department was informed late Thursday that testing would end at 2 p.m. Friday.
According to Speight, the state is trying to secure another lab, but there’s no guarantee.
“We do have home testing kits available at the reception window of the (Health Department) during regular business hours and we are trying to secure more home tests,” Speight said.
In a July 1 press release, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported that state-supported sites accounted for only 6% of the reported test results.
Richmond County broke the 14,000 mark last week, and on July 27 reported that the total number of cases had risen to 14,289 — an increase of more than 260 from the previous week — since the first was reported in April of 2020.
New weekly cases have nearly tripled within the past month, according to statistics provided by the Health Department. However, as Speight previously mentioned, the actual case numbers may be higher with at-home testing — which might not be reported — becoming more common.
When NCDHHS released its weekly update on Wednesday, there were 50 counties listed as being high risk — up from 41 the previous week. However, by Friday that number had risen to 61 on the COVID Dashboard.
The Health Department reported that the county was at medium risk — after rising to high risk last week — but Richmond is included in the latest update of high-risk counties.
Speight says that she also questioned the designation Wednesday morning when the nurse was compiling the report and NCDHHS had the county listed as medium risk.
Anson and Scotland counties are now listed as being high risk, along with Robeson, Hoke, Moore, Montgomery, Stanly, Sampson, Lee and Union. Currituck, on the coast, and Ashe and Watauga, in the mountains, are the only three counties labeled low risk.
Statewide, COVID-related emergency room visits only rose by a tenth of a percent (from 6.7% to 6.8%) and hospital admissions increased from 1,102 to 1,290, according to NCDHHS.
FirstHealth reports that, as of June 25, 30 of its 361 (8.3%) patients were COVID-positive. On July 18, that figure was 18 of 362 patients (5%). The system’s data includes patients from Moore, Richmond, Cumberland, Hoke, Lee, Robeson, Montgomery, Scotland, Randolph, Harnett, Chatham and Johnston counties, as well as those from out of state.
Among counties with a similar population, Richmond County has had the highest number of new cases in the past two weeks. McDowell County, which previously had the most, was the only in the grouping to see a decrease.
McDowell and Jackson counties, which are both in the western part of the state, are designated medium risk. Richmond, Beaufort, Davie, Stokes and Vance are all among the high-risk counties.
The Omicron BA.5 variant, which was first measured in North Carolina in mid-May now accounts for most of the cases.
Of the cases sequenced from July 2-16, 741 (59%) were the BA.5 variant, according to NCDHHS. The BA.1.1.529 variant, which was prevalent late December through mid-January — when the state saw record high case numbers and hospitalizations — accounts for about 4% of cases.
While symptoms associated with the BA.5 variant may be milder than previous COVID strains, health officials say it’s causing repeat infections and affecting the vaccinated.
Of the 32,156 new cases reported by the state for the week ending July 23, 4,739 (14.7%) were reinfections.
NCDHHS does not show the numbers of cases among the vaccinated, referred to as breakthrough cases.
Data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show a slight rise in cases among the vaccinated and boosted from April through May and a slight downward trend through mid-June.
However, within the past month, there have been several high-profile cases of those who have been vaxxed and doubled-boosted including Gov. Roy Cooper, President Joe Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci.
According to NCDHHS, 49% of Richmond County’s population has been completely vaccinated and 23% have received at least one booster.
Although a fourth vaccine, manufactured by Novavax, was recently given authorization in the U.S., Speight says it is not yet available in Richmond County — and she’s not sure when, or if, it will be.
Those made by Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson are available.
