ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Health Department on Saturday afternoon reported the 21st COVID-related death — hours after reporting two others.
This patient, like most others, died at a nearby hospital according to Health and Human Services Director Dr. Tommy Jarrell.
Jarrell announced in an earlier press release that one died in a “nearby hospital” on Friday afternoon and the other died in a hospital outside Richmond County early Saturday morning.
“Please join us with your thoughts and prayers for these families,” Jarrell said.
The county’s death toll from the coronavirus is now at 21.
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.
There were also six deaths reported last month on Sept. 11, 14,15, 21, 22 and 28.
Jarrell said those who have died ranged in age from 31-95 and included four African American females, three African American males, six Caucasian females and eight Caucasian males.
Judging by earlier reports, the three most recent have included one Caucasian female and two Caucasian males.
Jarrell also provided a breakdown of the age groups, saying that eight have been 60-69 years old; six 80 or older; five 70-79; and one each in the 30s and 50s.
“Nineteen of the deceased have died in a hospital and one has died outside of a hospital setting,” Jarrell said.
It is not known if any of the patients had underlying conditions.
There have been 3,629 deaths statewide as of Saturday, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Johns Hopkins University reports there have been 209,162 COVID-related deaths in the U.S. and 1,030,321 globally.
The Health Department reported nine new cases on Saturday and 10 new cases on Friday, making 33 in the first three days of October.
Of the 1,081 cases the county has seen since April, 950 have recovered and there were 111 active cases on Saturday, with eight hospitalized. (Note: The update was published prior to the announcement of the latest death.)
Of all the tests performed, 10,401 have been negative.
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 this 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.
DHHS reported 2,202 new cases across North Carolina on Saturday, bringing the statewide total to 216,886 (211,403 molecular positive cases; 5,483 antigen positive cases).
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of local cases per age group are as follows:
The largest increase in new cases was among the older two age groups.
The number of cases per ZIP code are as follows:
(*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 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, Wayne, Wilkes and Wilson.
Bladen County has had more than 900 cases.
Tyrell County now has the least number of total cases at 115, followed by Madison (116) and Camden (118)
Compared to other counties with a population between 43,000 and 48,000, Richmond falls close to the top. Vance County has had 1082 cases. The other four counties in the same population bracket have lesser totals: Beaufort (1001); Jackson (677); McDowell (1,058); and Stokes (479).
The total numbers (including recoveries) for surrounding counties are as follows:
Mecklenburg -29,414 (the only other county to top 10,000 is Wake with 18,136)
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 1,255 total cases and 37 deaths in Chesterfield County and 940 cases and 11 deaths in Marlboro County.
