ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County has four new cases of the coronavirus, including one child patient.
The Richmond County Health Department announced Sunday afternoon that the case count has risen to 20, with the ages of the latest patients being 56, 62, 70 and 9.
Health officials say 16 are in home isolation and two are currently hospitalized. The other two have died reportedly from complications associated with the COVID-19 viral infection.
One of the latest patients is also believed to have contracted the coronavirus through out-of-county work-related travel, according to the Health Department, bringing that number to three.
Four of them are connected to an outbreak at a Moore County nursing home and the rest are believed to be community spread.
A map detailing cases by ZIP code show that 13 are from the Rockingham area, six from around Hamlet, and one in or near Hoffman.
Health and Human Services Director Dr. Tommy Jarrell said the Health Department is currently unable to report any recoveries. He also said that of the results that have been returned, 354 have been negative.
As of 11 a.m. Sunday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services was reporting 6,493 positive cases in 93 counties. The state also reports that 465 North Carolinians are currently hospitalized and 172 deaths are being attributed to the virus.
The counties yet to have a reported case are: Camden and Hyde on the coast; and Yancey, Avery, Madison, Swain and Graham counties in the mountains.
There have been 851 confirmed cases, including 47 deaths, at 37 nursing homes across the state, according to DHHS. There have also been 172 cases at residential care facilities, 494 in correctional facilities and 48 at other congregational living areas.
The 25-49 age group remains the largest percentage of coronavirus patients with 39 percent of the cases, according to the state. However, 85 percent of the deaths have been of those 65 or older.
The local testing site was moved from the former Sandhills Regional Medical Center to the parking lot of FirstHealth Moore Regional Hospital-Richmond, but the hours of 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday remain the same.
There is also a mobile testing site in Moore County at West Pine Elementary School in West End, open 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Residents can call Richmond County’s COVID-19 hotline at 910-417-4947 for testing or more information.
