ROCKINGHAM — Richmond County’s number of active coronavirus cases has dropped to fewer than 300 for the first time in more than a week.
The Richmond County Health Department on Monday announced 51 new COVID-19 cases from the weekend— an average of 17 per day — listing the total active cases at 294.
A recent rise in cases saw the active number reach a high of 374 on Dec. 11. The last time active cases were less than 300 was on Dec. 8 at 285.
Of the current cases, 279 are under home isolation.
The latest update brings the monthly number to 602. The county has had a total of 2,452 cases since the first was reported in April.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services also reported the lowest daily numbers since Dec. 7 with 4,479 new cases statewide.
Nine days this month have seen more than 6,000 cases, peaking at 8,444 on Dec. 18. There have been more than 4,000 daily cases each day of December except for the first. Seven days have seen counts in excess of 6,000.
Statewide COVID-related hospitalizations have declined slightly, but remain above 2,800, including 15 Richmond County residents.
FirstHealth reports that 88 of its 333 patients (26.4%) are COVID-positive.
According to DHHS, there have been 6,419,622 completed tests for the coronavirus in the state, 483,647 of which have been positive. Forty-seven of the state’s 6,240 COVID-related deaths have been in Richmond County.
FirstHealth has completed 68,036 tests with 59,245 negative results, 7,875 positive results, and 162 results still pending.
Some individuals have been tested multiple times.
The county has also recorded 21,079 negative test results since March, with 2,111 of those who tested positive presumed to be recovered. DHHS estimates 403,488 recoveries across the state.
The Health Department is offering free COVID testing in the lot behind the building until Dec. 31. Testing will run from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday — except Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
BY THE NUMBERS
The number of local cases per age group are as follows (includes recoveries):
The total number of cases per ZIP code are as follows:
The total numbers (including recoveries) for surrounding counties are as follows:
Mecklenburg - 56,517 (other counties to top 10,000 are Wake, Guilford, Forsyth, Durham, Cumberland and Gaston, Pitt and Union*)
All numbers are from DHHS except Moore, which are from the local health department, as there has been a discrepancy with the state.
Tyrrell County, the smallest by population, remains the only one of the state’s 100 counties to have fewer than 200 cases with 162.
