ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County has averaged fewer than 15 new cases of COVID-19 over the past five days.
The Richmond County Health Department reported 17 cases Sept. 23, 29 on Sept. 24 and 27 on Monday — with the latter including weekend numbers — for a total of 73.
Earlier in the month, the county was reporting an average of more than 30 per day.
As of 5:30 p.m., Richmond County Schools’ COVID Tracker was reporting eight new school-related cases: six involving students; two among staffers.
Two of the student-related cases were at Ellerbe Middle, and there was one each at Mineral Springs and Washington Street Elementary, Cordova Middle and the Ninth Grade Academy.
There have been 240 student cases this school year.
Richmond Senior High leads the 15-school system with 45, followed by Hamlet Middle with 33 and NGA with 31. Eight other schools have had 10 or more cases:
- East Rockingham Elementary – 20
- Mineral Springs Elementary – 17
- Washington Street Elementary, Cordova Middle – 14
- Monroe Avenue Elementary – 12
- Rockingham Middle, Richmond Early College High School – 11
- Ellerbe Middle – 10
RCS has also reported a total of 37 staff-related cases:
- 6 – Mineral Springs
- 4 – Washington Street Elementary, Richmond Senior
- 3 – Rockingham Middle, REaCH
- 2 – East Rockingham, Fairview Heights, L.J. Bell, West Rockingham Elementary; Cordova Middle
- 1 – Monroe Avenue, Hamlet Middle, NGA
The cases reported Monday were at Washington Street and Rockingham Middle.
Statewide cases are also following a downward trend, according to statistics from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
New cases were at 2,665 Monday, dipping below 3,000 for the first time in more than a month. Since Sept. 19, there has only been one day to top 6,000 new cases.
Hospitalizations are also falling, with 3,012 COVID patients in North Carolina hospitals listed for Sunday. Those numbers have been on a slow, steady decline since hitting 3,815 (for the second time) on Sept. 8.
FirstHealth reported Monday that it had 63 COVID-positive patients (from more than 13 counties) in its hospital system. Of those, nine are vaccinated, according to an infographic. Only one of the 16 ICU patients and one of the 10 on a ventilator have taken the vaccine.
According to the Health Department, 18,051 county residents are fully vaccinated. NCDHHS shows 18,140, which is 48% of the eligible population and 40% of the total population. The county’s goal was last listed as 66%.
Testing is available Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-6 p.m at the Health Department and a secondary site will open at Cole Auditorium on the campus of Richmond Community College Sept. 29 and run from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Friday.
Both the vaccines manufactured by Pfizer and Moderna are available through the Health Department, where they are available Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Fridays from 8-11 a.m. There is no charge and no appointment necessary.
