ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Sheriff’s Office will be closed for the rest of the week after several employees tested positive for COVID-19.
Sheriff Mark Gulledge confirmed Thursday afternoon that the office will be undergoing a deep cleaning, but plans to reopen on Monday.
Initially there were five employees of the office who had tested positive earlier in the week and Gulledge confirmed a sixth person now has the coronavirus.
The closure has restricted foot traffic, prohibiting the public from coming in to conduct business, including applying for handgun permits.
The Moore County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday evening that Deputy Eric Ritter passed away due to complications from COVID-19.
According to the post, Ritter retired from the N.C. State Highway Patrol in 2016 at the rank of first sergeant.
Two years later, Ritter joined the MCSO as a part-time bailiff and became a full-time deputy this past February, assigned to the security detail at the Historic Courthouse in Carthage.
Gulledge, who was approved to succeed the late Sheriff James Clemmons on Tuesday, said his office offers condolences to Ritter’s family and the MCSO.
For the second consecutive day, the Richmond County Health Department reported 23 new cases of COVID-19.
There have been 145 new cases since Saturday.
Across North Carolina, numbers are starting to rise to those seen in the post-holiday surge earlier in the year, with cases hitting a recent daily high of 7,020, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
There were also 3,083 COVID-related hospitalizations in the state, as of Wednesday.
On Thursday, FirstHealth of the Carolinas reported that 92 of its 423 patients were COVID-positive
FirstHealth posted a graphic to its Facebook page Wednesday (a Thursday update was not available at the time of this writing) showing a breakdown of patient statistics:
79 of the 89 COVID patients were unvaccinated; 13 had been vaccinated
All 16 COVID patients in ICU were unvaccinated
All 10 COVID patients on ventilators were unvaccinated
The Health Department also reported there were 44 additional vaccinations administered since Wednesday’s report, making a total of 16,178.
Because of limited supplies of the Pfizer vaccine, which is the only one authorized for kids aged 12-17, Interim Health Director Cheryl Speight said the Health Department is limiting it to the younger population and giving the Moderna shot to adults. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is no longer available through the Health Department.
Vaccines are available at the Health Department Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-5 p.m. and Fridays from 8-11 a.m. There is no charge and no appointment necessary.
