ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Health Department has reported another COVID-related death, making it the 17th since the pandemic began.
Health and Human Services Director Dr. Tommy Jarrell said his department was notified Tuesday afternoon that the patient died Monday in a hospital outside Richmond County.
“Please join us with your thoughts and prayers for this family today during this time of their loss,” Jarrell said in a statement.
This marks the second death this week and the fifth for September. The 16th death was reported Monday. The others were reported on Sept. 11, 14 and 15.
The county’s first death attributed to COVID-19 was reported on April 10; the second was on April 17; the third on May 30; the fourth on June 8; the fifth on June 11; the sixth on June 29; the seventh on June 30; the eighth on July 21; the ninth on Aug. 2; the 10th on Aug. 27; the 11th on Aug. 28; and the 12th on Aug. 13.
Most patients have died in a hospital, except for two: who died at a congregate living facility in the county; and one whose location was not given.
It is not known if any of the patients had underlying conditions.
All that is known about the 17 patients is that they ranged in age from 31 to 95 and include three African American women, three African American men, five Caucasian females and six caucasian men.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported Tuesday that there had been 3,286 COVID-related deaths statewide — 39 more than the previous day. According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 200,284 COVID-related deaths in the U.S.
COVID CASE UPDATE
The Health Department also announced on Tuesday that 56 patients have recovered from the coronavirus, bringing that total up to 830.
There are currently 132 active cases, with 122 under home isolation and 10 hospitalized. (Note: The update was made before the latest death was announced.)
Only six new cases were reported, which was much less than the 36 on Monday — 19 of which were at Morrison Correctional Institution in Hoffman.
The Health Department has reported 288 cases for the month of September: 49 during the first week; 106 during the second week; 91 for the third week; and 42 so far this week.
September has had the highest number of cases since the first was reported in early April. Richmond was one of the last 10 of North Carolina’s 100 counties to report a case.
There have only been five reporting days this month with fewer than 10 cases.
Monday also set a record high for new cases announced in one day. The previous high of 31 was recorded on Sept. 10.
Of all those tested in Richmond County, 9,289 have received a negative result.
As of 10:15 a.m. Sept. 21, FirstHealth reported 32 COVID-positive patients in its hospitals, accounting for 9.9% of its 323 patients.
Of the 34,383 tests completed: 30,099 have been negative; 3,791 have been positive; and results are still pending on 79.
New cases statewide continue on a downward trend, with intermittent spikes.
This month, daily numbers have been as low as 716 on Sept. 8 and 800 on Sept. 21 and as high as 1,552 on Sept. 17. New cases peaked on July 18 with 2,481.
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of local cases per age group are as follows:
- 0-18 – 129
- 19-30 – 166
- 31-40 – 130
- 41-50 – 172
- 50-64 – 211
- 65-older – 170
There was no change in the youngest three age groups from the previous day.
The number of cases per ZIP code are as follows:
- Rockingham – 537 (50 active)
- Hamlet – 265(34 active)
- Ellerbe – 101 (17 active)
- Hoffman – 59 (28 active)
- Mount Gilead – 10 (0 active)
- Marston – 6 (3 active)
(*Note: The Richmond County Health Department now lists the number of active cases per ZIP Code instead of the number of recoveries.)
DHHS reports that half of the state’s 100 counties that have now experienced more than 1,000 total cases: Alamance, Brunswick, Burke, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Craven, Franklin, Chatham, Cleveland, Columbus, Cumberland, Davidson, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, Harnett, Henderson, Hoke, Iredell, Johnston, Lee, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onlsow, Orange, Pitt, Randolph, Rowan, Robeson, Rockingham, Rutherford, Sampson, Stanly, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Wayne, Wilkes and Wilson.
In addition to Richmond, Beaufort, Bladen, Halifax, Lenoir, McDowell, Pender, Scotland and Vance counties have had more than 800 cases.
Madison (91) remains the only county with fewer than 100 cases.
The total numbers (including recoveries) for surrounding counties are as follows:
- Mecklenburg -27,687 (the only other county to top 10,000 is Wake with 17,010)
- Union – 4,611
- Stanly – 1,830
- Montgomery – 1,028
- Anson – 556
- Moore – 1,573 (93 active)
- Hoke – 1,077
- Scotland – 968
- Robeson – 4,263
All numbers are from DHHS except Moore, which are from the local health department, as there has been a discrepancy with the state.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is reporting 1,189 total cases in Chesterfield County and 901 in Marlboro County.
