ROCKINGHAM — New daily COVID cases have remained fewer than 15 per day so far in November as transmission of the virus continues to appear to be slowing down.
The Richmond County Health Department reported 13 new cases on Monday, which includes cases from the weekend. That averages to 4.3 cases per day.
Last week, the Health Department reported 22 on Monday, two on Tuesday, 10 each on Wednesday and Thursday, and 13 on Friday.
Richmond County Schools reported only two cases on Monday: one each at L.J. Bell Elementary and the Ninth Grade Academy.
So far this school year, there have been 350 student related cases, according to the RCS COVID tracker.
Richmond Senior High School leads the 15-school district with 82, followed by: NGA with 45; Hamlet Middle with 34; East Rockingham Elementary with 24; Rockingham Middle with 23; Mineral Springs Elementary and Cordova Middle, each with 21; and L.J. Bell with 20.
All other schools have had fewer than 20 cases.
There have also been a total of 54 staff-related cases, including seven at Richmond Senior, six at Mineral Springs and five in Central Services.
Following a month-long downward trend, statewide cases seem to be leveling off.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported 1,103 new cases — seven more than Nov. 1.
The NCDHHS daily tracker appears to show weekly case numbers at their lowest on Mondays before rising by a few hundred throughout the week. Last week’s cases peaked at 2,201 Nov. 4.
Statewide COVID hospitalizations also continue to decrease daily, with 1,040 reported Sunday.
FirstHealth last updated its statistics on Nov. 5, showing 26 of its 380 patients (6.8%) were COVID-positive. Of those, nine were vaccinated and 17 were not.
Last week, NCDDHS announced that the Pfizer vaccine had received authorization for use in children as young as 5. Since then, only 1% of the state’s children aged 5-11 have been vaccinated.
The Health Department announced Monday in a press release on Facebook (which had not been sent to the press as of 7 p.m.) that pediatric COVID shots were now available.
As of Monday, 19,692 Richmond County residents had been vaccinated.
Over the weekend, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit issued a stay against the Biden Administration’s rule requiring vaccinations at businesses with more than 100 employees, multiple media outlets reported.
The mandate, which carries fines up to $14,000 per violation, is supposed to go into effect Jan. 4.
The measure has come under fire, mostly from conservatives, including N.C. Superintendent of Public Instruction Catherine Truitt, who called it “one of the clearest examples of government overreach and one of the purest attacks on personal choice.”
“I’ve always maintained these decisions are best made by an individual or parents, and in tandem with a trusted health care provider,” Truitt added.
The federal government was supposed to issue a reply to the challenge on Monday, according to media outlets.
COVID vaccinations and boosters are available at the Health Department from 8 a.m. -5 p.m. Monday-Thursday 8-5, and 8-11 a.m. on Fridays with no appointment needed.
County Manager Bryan Land said Nov. 2 that the Health Department had administered 970 booster shots. At that time, there were 70 active cases and six hospitalizations.
Testing is available behind the Health Department from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. and Cole Auditorium from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Rapid testing is also available at the Health Department.
State statistics show that older age groups are more likely to get the vaccine with 93% of the population aged 75 older having at least one dose.
From there, the percentages decline, as seen in the graph below.
