A 16th Richmond County resident has died from COVID-19, the Richmond County Health Department reported Monday afternoon.

The patient died Monday at a local hospital, and the Health Department was notified Monday afternoon. This is the sixth local death reported since Aug. 27, and comes six days after the previous death.

With 36 new cases reported on Monday, this is the new highest spike in a single day. The official Facebook page for the Richmond County government reported that 19 of these cases were from one location, which the Richmond County Health Department confirmed was Morrison Correctional Institution.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety on Monday listed Morrison with 29 total COVID-19 cases out of 397 total tests performed. Health Director Tommy Jarrell said that inmates are counted among Richmond County residents, but local health officials do not conduct contact tracing of these cases. Jarrell explained that the prison’s staff would be contacted by his staff for contact tracing, but that the state prison system handles contact tracing for cases among Morrison inmates.

A spokesperson for Morrison could not be reached Monday.

The Health Department tracks the impact of the virus on a weekly basis. Over the last six weeks, dating back to Aug. 3 and counting from each Monday to each Saturday, Richmond County has seen weeks of new positive cases, 59, 49, 61, 58, 106 and 91 last week.

Richmond County now has 972 total positive cases with 186 cases active, nine people hospitalized and 771 people recovered. Overall, 9,147 tests have come back negative.

The COVID-19-related deaths in Richmond County have been in people whose ages ranged from 31 to 95. Of those who have died from the virus: two have been African American females, three were African American males, five were Caucasian females and six were Caucasian males.

The Health Department continues to encourage everyone to practice the three W’s: wear mask, wait six feet apart and wash hands frequently.

“Please join us with your thoughts and prayers for this family today during this time of their loss,” Health Director Tommy Jarrell said in a statement.

If you have questions about COVID-19 in general or about your own need to be tested, call the Richmond County COVID-19 Hotline at 910-417-4947.