ROCKINGHAM — As new COVID-19 cases continue to rise in Richmond County, so does the death toll.
The Richmond County Health Department on Wednesday announced the 23rd COVID-related death.
Health and Human Services Director Dr. Tommy Jarrell said the department was notified the patient died in a hospital outside Richmond County.
This is the fourth death for the month of October, with three being reported on Oct. 3. The Department also recently reported another death from September, bringing that month’s total to seven.
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, two in a healthcare facility and one outside a healthcare setting, reports show.
Jarrell said those who have died ranged in age from 31-95:eight have been 60-69 years old; six 80 or older; seven from 70-79; and one each in the 30s and 50s.
The race and gender breakdown is as follows: three African American females, five African American males, eight Caucasian females and seven Caucasian males.
It is not known if any of the patients had underlying conditions.
According to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, there have now been 3,693 COVID-related deaths across the state as of Oct. 4. Johns Hopkins University reports there have been 211,492 COVID-related deaths in the U.S. and 1,052,193 globally.
Also on Wednesday, the Health Department reported 17 new positive cases of the coronavirus. Twenty-six new cases were reported on Tuesday and 12 were reported on Monday.
There are currently 112 active cases, with 99 under home isolation and 13 hospitalized. (Note: The daily update was released prior to the announcement of the latest death.)
The total so far this month is 88, an average of 12.5 each day.
September saw the most cases in the county (358) for one month: 49 the first week; 106; the second week; 91 the third week; 79 the fourth week; and 33 the final few days last week.
In September, the county also reported its highest one-day total (36 on Sept. 21), which included 19 cases at Morrison Correctional Institution in Hoffman, and six COVID-related deaths.
Of the 1,135 who have tested positive, 1,001 have recovered, according to the Health Department. Of all those who have been tested, 10,750 have received a negative result.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,711 new cases across the state on Wednesday.
New cases had been on a downward trend after peaking in July and dropping through August and September, but numbers have spiked during the first week of October.
The state’s total is now up to 222,969 cases, with 192,644 estimated to have recovered.
Earlier this week, Richmond County Schools announced that it was closing Fairview Heights Elementary for a two-week quarantine due to a cluster of seven cases among students and staff.
The district reported one case involving a traditional student at Fairview Heights on Monday and one virtual student at Hamlet Middle on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday, RCS reported a total of 17 staff members, 30 virtual students and five traditional students as having contracted COVID-19, in addition to four employees of the Central Office.
The only two schools with no reported cases among students or staff are Washington Street Elementary and Ashley Chapel Educational Center.
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of local cases per age group are as follows:
- 0-18 – 150
- 19-30 – 195
- 31-40 – 143
- 41-50 – 196
- 50-64 – 243
- 65-older – 207
The largest increase in new cases was among the older two age groups.
The number of cases per ZIP code are as follows:
- Rockingham – 608 (51 active)
- Hamlet – 317(41 active)
- Ellerbe – 117 (10 active)
- Hoffman – 77 (7 active)
- Mount Gilead – 10 (0 active)
- Marston – 8 (3 active)
DHHS reports that more than half of the state’s 100 counties that have now experienced more than 1,000 total cases: Alamance, Beaufort, Brunswick, Burke, Buncombe, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Craven, Franklin, Chatham, Cleveland, Columbus, Cumberland, Davidson, Duplin, Durham, Edgecombe, Forsyth, Gaston, Granville, Guilford, Halifax, Harnett, Henderson, Hoke, Iredell, Johnston, Lee, Lenoir, Lincoln, McDowell, Mecklenburg, Montgomery, Moore, Nash, New Hanover, Onlsow, Orange, Pender, Pitt, Randolph, Richmond, Rowan, Robeson, Rockingham, Rutherford, Sampson, Scotland, Stanly, Surry, Union, Vance, Wake, Watauga, Wayne, Wilkes and Wilson.
Bladen County has had more than 900 cases.
Tyrell County now has the least number of total cases at 117, followed by Madison (121) and Camden (125).
Compared to other counties with a population between 43,000 and 48,000, Richmond tops the list. Vance County has had 1,095 cases. The other four counties in the same population bracket have lesser totals: Beaufort (1,036); Jackson (714); McDowell (1,092); and Stokes (518).
The total numbers (including recoveries) for surrounding counties are as follows:
- Mecklenburg -29,829 (the only other county to top 10,000 is Wake with 18,579)
- Union – 5,186
- Stanly – 2,146
- Montgomery – 1,071
- Anson – 655
- Moore – 1,829 (190 active)
- Hoke – 1,325
- Scotland – 1,355
- Robeson – 4,954
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 1,294 total cases and 38 deaths in Chesterfield County and 984 cases and 11 deaths in Marlboro County.
