Coronavirus: Bladen County pace for August climbs to near 900 positive tests

ELIZABETHTOWN — No change has been reported for outbreaks at two Bladen County congregate living settings, and there are no schools listed among the clusters.

But the county’s two traditional high schools are having to deal with the coronavirus. The varsity football team at West Bladen is unable to play its season opener tonight, and East Bladen’s junior varsity football team had to postpone its opener on Thursday night.

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.

The county has seen a rise in fatalties and positive tests for the virus this month. There have been six deaths, the last of which was in reports from one week ago, and 515 positive tests recorded, both PCR and antigen. For context, there were 259 last month, and at the previous peak 500 in December and 765 in January.

The pace for the month is about 887.

On Wednesday, there were 23 people hospitalized of 340 cases considered active.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 4,284 positive tests and 3,882 recoveries. Sixty-two have died.

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.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says Bladen County has 26.7 percent (8,735) of the total population vaccinated and 35.5 percent (11,613) partially vaccinated.

Wednesday’s totals, since the pandemic began, from the state included:

• 13,952 deaths.

• 1,113,243 cases.

• 2,930 hospitalized.

• 15,145,471 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.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 37.1 million confirmed cases and 624,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 32.2 million.

There have been more than 209.5 million cases worldwide, with more than 4.3 million deaths.