By Natalie Anderson
natalie.anderson@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — State health officials on Tuesday added two local congregate care facilities to its list of outbreaks for Rowan County after reporting 11 new COVID-19 cases between both facilities.

One staff member and five residents have tested positive at The Laurels of Salisbury, a nursing home located at 215 Lash Drive. This marks the facility’s second outbreak after its first ended in late May.

Additionally, five residents have tested positive for COVID-19 at The Meadows of Rockwell Retirement Center, located at 612 China Grove Highway in Rockwell.

State and county health officials report active outbreaks among six additional local congregate care facilities, including Accordius Health, Brightmoor Nursing Center, Liberty Commons, N.C. State Veterans Home, Elmcroft of Salisbury and Trinity Oaks Health and Rehab. The most recent outbreaks data show 40 cases at Elmcroft, two cases at Brightmoor and five cases at N.C. State Veterans Home.

State health officials also continue to report a cluster of cases at Rockwell Christian School, which was first reported last week.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety reports four active cases at the Piedmont Correctional Institute and 76 presumed recoveries.

Though no new deaths were reported by county health officials on Tuesday, 30 additional cases were reported. That totals 120 deaths and 4,285 cases reported in the county since March. All but 45 of the deaths have been among local congregate care facilities, and the average age among the deaths is 80.

Currently, 544, or nearly 13%, of those cases are active, while 3,621 have recovered. A total of 18 Rowan Countians are currently being hospitalized for COVID-19. The average age among all positive cases is 43.8.

The state reported an additional 2,349 cases on Tuesday, amounting to 280,377 total positive cases across the state since the start of the pandemic. The rate of tests returning positive slightly increased as 6.8% of the 4.15 million completed tests are positive. A total of 4,457 people have died, and 1,175 North Carolinians are being hospitalized.

The state reports 918 of the 2,373 available ventilators are currently in use, along with 1,800 ICU beds and 15,139 inpatient hospital beds.

County data show the plurality of cases, or 28%, of all reported cases have been among those aged 18-35, while the average age among hospitalizations is 64.

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.