ROCKINGHAM — While Richmond County remains coronavirus-free, two other regional counties are reporting cases.
On Saturday, health officials in Montgomery and Robeson counties announced that they each had a case.
According to a statement from the Montgomery County Health Department, the individual there is isolating and home and cooperating with public health officials, who are identifying close contacts and monitoring symptoms to “contain potential spread.”
The patient in Montgomery County had traveled to Washington, D.C. and started developing symptoms on March 12, WPDE reports.
Health officials there are also working to identify close contacts.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services listed 184 known cases in North Carolina. That list does not include those in Montgomery or Robeson counties, but did include cases in nearby Moore, Hoke, Scotland and Union.
DHHS only shows a count each morning with numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
John Hopkins University reports that there are 242 cases in the Tar Heel State, as of 4:05 p.m. Saturday.
Other counties new on the state’s list include Lee and Cleveland.
In an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19, state, local and federal officials have been taking measures, including shutting down non-essential businesses, closing restaurants and bars and even telling people not to leave their homes.
North Carolina does not yet have a shelter-in-place order.
Media outlets reported late Friday that beaches in New Hanover County, which has one case, would close on Saturday. Earlier in the week, other beaches were closed from Carteret to Dare counties, including Ocracoke.
Dare County also recently barred entrance for non-resident property owners, who were previously allowed to enter the county.
