ROCKINGHAM ― More than 40 additional students have tested positive for COVID-19 as cases continue to surge in Richmond County.
Richmond County Schools reported through its COVID Tracker on Thursday that 44 students in all but two schools in the 15-school district have contracted the coronavirus:
- 9 – Ninth Grade Academy
- 7 – Richmond Senior High
- 4 – L.J. Bell, Mineral Springs, Monroe Avenue and Washington Street Elementary
- 3 – Fairview Heights Elementary
- 2 – East Rockingham Elementary, Ashley Chapel Educational Center, Richmond Early College High School
- 1 – Cordova, Ellerbe and Hamlet Middle
The only two schools with no new cases on Thursday were Rockingham Middle and West Rockingham Elementary.
According to RCS records, 213 students have tested positive since Jan. 6. Since the school year began in August, 778 students have tested positive.
Richmond Senior has had 184 total cases, more than twice the 90 at NGA and three times as many as Rockingham Middle (60).
RCS also reports that 13 staff members tested positive: three at Monroe Avenue; two each at L.J. Bell and Mineral Springs, Ashley Chapel and Richmond Senior; and one each at Fairview Heights and Ellerbe Middle.
The latest numbers bring the total staff cases to 188, including 24 at Richmond Senior, 19 at Fairview Heights and 18 at Washington Street.
The Richmond County Health Department on Thursday reported 171 new cases. According to the Health Department, 36% of those tested are testing positive.
(Note: The graphic posted by the Health Department did not feature the number of new cases. That number was ascertained by subtracting Wednesday’s overall total 9,085 from Thursday’s overall total of 9,256.)
Records show that 1,525 Richmond County residents have tested positive since Dec. 31, including 850 since Saturday.
Health Director Cheryl Speight said Thursday evening that the Health Department would be changing its COVID reporting, including not sending out press releases for each COVID-related death.
Daily reports, she said, will feature case numbers, death totals and a positivity rate, with vaccine totals and hospitalizations reported on Wednesdays.
The inclusion of lab results from GENETWORx from Dec. 31-Jan. 11 previously not reported to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services led to Thursday’s statewide total jumping to 44,833.
Subtracting the 10,791 GENETWORx results still puts the daily tally at 34,042, nearly 5,000 more than the Jan. 8 record high of 29,069. Just a month ago, on Dec. 14, there were fewer than 2,000 daily cases.
COVID-related hospitalization also set another record at 4,275 on Wednesday, according to NCDHHS.
FirstHealth reported that 99 of its 429 patients (23.1%) were COVID positive, and Scotland Memorial Hospital had 33 isolated COVID patients.
According to records with NCDHHS, 20,779 Richmond County residents are fully vaccinated and 7,812 people have received boosters.
Vaccinations are available at the Health Department and testing is being done behind the department. Additional drive-thru testing is available in the parking lot of Cole Auditorium.
