ELIZABETHTOWN — The fifth fatality this month connected to coronavirus was recorded in the daily update report of the Bladen County Health Department on Monday.
Through Tuesday, there were 15 people hospitalized among 262 cases considered active. No county report was provided on Wednesday.
West Bladen Assisted Living and the Elizabethtown Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center each appeared on Tuesday’s state outbreak report. There are seven cases among residents at the residential care facility in Bladenboro; there are two cases among staff, and none among residents at the Elizabethtown nursing home.
The state Department of Health and Human Services defines outbreaks as two or more cases at congregate living settings, and clusters as five or more at child care facilities or schools. There were no clusters listed for Bladen County on Wednesday reports.
The active cases are the highest since Jan. 31, when the county listed 265. The peak since the worldwide pandemic began was 385 on Jan. 19; the last time at or over 300 was Jan. 28.
Through Wednesday on the DHHS report, there were 61 deaths and 4,046 positive tests, both PCR and antigen, since the pandemic began. There have been 277 positive tests this month — a total that eclipses 259 last month, and is only behind reports from January (765), December (500), February (324) and June 2020 (271).
Neither the county nor the state adjust numbers for false positives. The first positive test in the county was announced April 2, 2020, and the first fatality on May 6, 2020.
The county Health Department is taking walk-ins for vaccination and can help with those who are homebound and need transportation. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are available at the 300 Mercer Mill office for those ages 12 and up; hours are Monday through Thursday 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Friday 9 a.m. to noon.
Questions can be directed to 910-872-6291.
According to data at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Bladen County has 26.2 percent (8,573) of the total population vaccinated and 34.4 percent (11,268) partially vaccinated.
The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 1,304 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 1,105 in Bladenboro; 500 in Clarkton; 394 in East Arcadia; 229 in White Oak; 212 in Tar Heel; 109 in Council; and 77 in Kelly.
There are 24 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been 18 in Bladenboro; five each in Clarkton and East Arcadia; four in Council; two in White Oak; and one each in Tar Heel and Kelly. The Dublin ZIP code disappeared from the state report on Jan. 29.
Wednesday’s totals from the state included:
• 13,790 deaths.
• 1,094,886 cases.
• 2,304 hospitalized.
• 14,798,063 tests.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health conditions, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.
In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 975 deaths and 75,404 cases. Cumberland has counted 341 deaths and 34,135 cases; Robeson, 287 deaths and 18,993 cases; Columbus, 161 deaths and 7,422 cases; Sampson, 115 deaths and 8,704 cases; and Pender, 71 deaths and 6,150 cases.
According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 36.1 million confirmed cases and 618,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 32 million.
There have been more than 204.6 million cases worldwide, with more than 4.3 million deaths.
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