ROCKINGHM — Richmond County's COVID-19 case count is now up to eight.
The Richmond County Health Department announced the latest case around 1:30 Saturday afternoon.
Health officials say the individual is currently in home isolation.
All eight of the county's cases have been announced this week.
County health officials were made aware of the first case late Sunday and announced it on Monday morning. The second case was made public on Wednesday.
Both individuals in those cases are believed to have contracted the coronavirus outside of the county.
On Thursday, the county announced three additional cases, all believed to be community spread.
The following day, the health department announced the county's first death related to COVID-19 and two new cases. The individual who died was in a hospital in another county.
One of the individuals is hospitalized and six are in home isolation, according to the health department.
No information has been given as to the ages or genders of those who have contracted the virus.
The cases are assigned to a county based on residency. Last week, Health and Human Services Director Dr. Tommy Jarrell said there were three cases from Montgomery County that were misattributed to Richmond.
According to Saturday's press release, a total of 318 Richmond County residents have been tested with 297 negative results. Four percent of the tests have not yet been returned.
As of 11:38 a.m., there were 4,318 lab-confirmed cases in 91 counties across the state, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Those counties without cases are in the mountains and on the coast and have low populations.
Mecklenburg is nearing 1,000 cases with 935, including 11 deaths.
Nearby Moore County recently had an outbreak at a nursing home.
State records show 25 current outbreaks at nursing homes, seven at residential care facilities, and five at correctional facilities.
The largest percentage of cases (40%) are individuals ages 25-49 and women make up 52 percent of the patients. Men account for 46 percent, leaving 2 percent with an unknown gender, state records show.
There are 362 North Carolinians currently hospitalized and the state records show 80 deaths associated with COVID-19.
Gov. Roy Cooper has enacted a number of executive orders, including a stay-at-home order, which allows leaving the residence for work, exercise or to buy essential items. However, a recent order will limit the number of people who can be in a retail establishment starting Monday.
Another order bans mass gatherings of more than 10 people.
Residents are encouraged to maintain a distance of six feet from one another in public.
