Coronavirus: Four deaths logged over weekend; cases rise in two schools, and at residential care facility

ELIZABETHTOWN — Coronavirus fatalities went up over the weekend, and the number of cases at two Bladen County schools has also risen since the last report.

The Health Department logged four deaths since its last report on Friday. The state Department of Health and Human Services, in its weekly Tuesday report for clusters and outbreaks, added one case among staff and 18 among children at Emereau: Bladen Charter School, and 10 among students at West Bladen High School on its cluster report.

The additions at the schools push their totals to one staff and 31 children at Emereau, and no staff and 15 students at West Bladen.

On the outbreak report, Elizabethtown Healthcare & Rehabilitation Center has two cases among staff and none among residents, and West Bladen Assisted Living has 14 cases among residents and none among staff. Those totals are without change for the Elizabethtown nursing home, and up seven at the residential care facility in Bladenboro.

DHHS defines outbreaks as two or more cases at congregate living settings, and clusters as five or more at child care facilities or schools.

In the Health Department report, Bladen County recorded 100 recoveries over the weekend between Friday and Tuesday, and 102 positive tests. Of 351 positive tests considered active cases, there are 17 people hospitalized — up one from Friday’s report.

Nearly a full a week into September, the county has recorded nine fatalities, 181 positive tests and 220 recoveries. Since the pandemic began, there have been 82 deaths, 4,914 positive tests, and 4,483 recovieres.

Statewide, DHHS said 3,779 were hospitalized.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its Tuesday report, says Bladen County has 28.5 percent (9,328) of the total population fully vaccinated and 37.9 percent (12,396) partially vaccinated.

Bladen and all 99 other counties in the state remain listed as red, or showing a high level of community transmission. The period measured is Aug. 28 to Friday for case rate, and Aug. 26 to Wednesday for percent positivity.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 1,551 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 1,423 in Bladenboro; 629 in Clarkton; 474 in East Arcadia; 271 in White Oak; 245 in Tar Heel; 126 in Council; and 96 in Kelly.

There are 28 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Bladenboro, and for Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been seven in Clarkton; six in East Arcadia; four in Council; four in Tar Heel; two in White Oak; and one in Kelly. The Dublin ZIP code disappeared from the state report on Jan. 29.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 40 million confirmed cases and 649,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 33 million.

There have been more than 221.5 million cases worldwide, with more than 4.5 million deaths.

Vaccinations remain strongly encouraged.

The county Health Department is taking appointments 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; weekday hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., with an extension on Tuesdays to 7 p.m.

Questions can be directed to 910-872-6291.

COVID-19 drive-thru testing is offered by OptumServe at the Health Department weekdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. If weather is inclement, the site is closed.