City of Whiteville issued the following announcement.
Two more Columbus County residents have died as a result of COVID-19, the county health department announced Monday afternoon. The people died Thursday and Friday while hospitalized.
The county added 72 new COVID-19 cases since the last report on Thursday, bringing the total to 3,099 cases since the pandemic began.
“Of the 72 new COVID-19 cases, 15 can be attributed to correctional facilities and long-term care facilities in Columbus County,” according to the health department press release.
A total of 16 county residents were in hospitals on Monday due to the coronavirus. There have been 76 COVID-19 deaths. Approximately 2,259 residents have recovered from COVID-19, according to the health department’s last update on Dec. 10.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported a worsening outbreak at Liberty Commons with 29 residents (four more than Thursday) and 22 staff testing positive for COVID-19. The cluster at Enchanting Tree Learning Center, however, has remained the same with five staff members testing positive.
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety reported 15 active cases (five fewer than Thursday) and 78 recoveries at Columbus Correctional Institution, along with four active cases (same as Thursday) and 550 recoveries at Tabor Correctional Institution.
Schools
Students are completing semester exams in most local schools this week. Columbus County Schools spokesman Kelly Jones said Monday morning that three siblings at Acme Delco Elementary, one student at East Columbus and one student at West Columbus had received positive COVID-19 test results. No school contacts of the five students needed to be quarantined as a result.
One new student case had been diagnosed at Whiteville High School by Monday morning, city schools Superintendent Marc Whichard said, with no quarantines of school contacts necessary.
Columbus Charter School had two people testing positive at presstime, Headmaster Steve Smith said.
Thomas Academy Principal George Ward III said Monday morning that the charter school had no new positive cases. Columbus Christian Academy did not provide the latest COVID-19 numbers by presstime; any updates arriving too late for the print edition will be at NRcolumbus.com.
The Christian academy’s sixth through 12th grade students were to receive remote instruction through Wednesday after three staff members had positive tests, Principal Jennifer Noble announced earlier this month. Christmas break for the private school begins Thursday.
Original source can be found here.
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