ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Health Department on Friday announced the second COVID-related death in December.
According to a press release, the Health Department was notified early in the morning that the individual died at a local hospital.
The latest fatality brings the county’s total to 42, about half of which have been in the past two months. There were 15 COVID-related deaths in October and six in November.
The county’s first death attributed to the coronavirus was announced on April 10.
The two most recent deaths were reported Nov. 26 (Thanksgiving Day) and Dec. 3.
According to the Health Department, 31 have passed away in a hospital, eight have died in another healthcare setting and three have died outside of a health setting.
All patients have been between the ages of 31 and 95: 16 have been 80 or older; 11 have been in their 70s; 11 in their 60s; three in their 50s; and one who was 31.
The race and gender breakdown is as follows: seven African American females, six African American males, two American Indian males, 16 Caucasian females and 11 Caucasian males.
Judging from previous press releases, the latest individual was a Caucasian male in his 60s.
It is not known if any of the patients had underlying conditions.
As of Dec. 4, there were 5,467 COVID-related deaths in the state, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
When compared to other counties with similar populations (43,000-48,000) Richmond falls in the close middle.
DHHS records (which may not be up to date with county records) show the following death totals:
- Vance – 58
- Beaufort – 55
- McDowell – 34
- Stokes – 19
- Jackson – 10
Earlier in the week, Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen compared the state’s COVID deaths to the 1,500 flu deaths over the past decade.
“In just 11 months, COVID has killed more than three times that number,” she said.
Johns Hopkins University reports (as of 11:55 a.m. Dec. 4) there have been 276,773 COVID-related deaths in the U.S. and 1,510,313 globally.
The Health Department has reported more than 100 new cases so far this month. Friday’s local data has not yet been released.
