ROCKINGHAM — The Richmond County Health Department reported three new COVID-19-related deaths of Richmond County residents within 24 hours Friday morning, bringing the total to 60 deaths.

There have now been eight COVID deaths in the new year, and six this week. Two were reported Wednesday, and another on Thursday. There have been 666 new COVID-19 cases since Christmas Day for an average of 31.7 new cases per day, with the highest count of new cases in a single day (not including Mondays) coming on Thursday, Jan. 7 when 95 new cases were reported.

The county reached the 50-death benchmark Dec. 30 when a death from earlier in the month was reported. The first COVID-19-related death came on April 10, and there were only 13 by Sept. 11. In the more than four months since, there have been now 47 deaths.

For comparison, Health Director Tommy Jarrell told the Daily Journal that the official count of flu deaths in Richmond County hovers between five and 10 deaths each year.

The Health Department reports deaths as “COVID-19-related” not “COVID-19-only” deaths — meaning that other comorbidities may have been at play, but that the coronavirus was a factor in the person dying, Jarrell explained.

The 60 COVID-19-related deaths in the county have ranged in age from 31 to 95. A further breakdown of the deaths indicate: 10 African American females, eight African American males, one “other race” female, one “other race” male, one Hispanic female, two Native American males, 20 Caucasian females and 17 Caucasian males. Thirty-nine of the deceased have died in a hospital, 14 have died at another healthcare facility and four have died outside of a hospital or healthcare facility setting. Additionally, age ranges for the deceased are as follows:

Age Range:

• 30-39: 1

• 50-59: 6

• 60-69: 17

• 70-79: 18

• 80 & up: 18

Free Covid-19 testing will be offered at Richmond County Health Department (back parking lot-behind building) located at 127 Caroline Street in Rockingham, North Carolina through January 2021. Anyone seeking testing should enter the Greene Street entrance and follow signs to the back of building to testing center. The times available are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Site will be open on Jan. 18, Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

These tests do not require a patient to be experiencing symptoms, to have a doctor’s note, nor to have insurance. The wait time for results is roughly the same as the wait following a test with FirstHealth. A new location for the tests will be announced each Friday for an unknown number of weeks. The sites will rotate through the county.

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,” Jarrell said in a press release.

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.

Reach Gavin Stone at 910-817-2673 or [email protected].