SALISBURY — The county on Tuesday reported two deaths, 102 new cases and 81 COVID-19 recoveries.

The two deaths were outside of a congregate living facility, bringing the number to 138 since the start of the pandemic. The deaths did not materially change the average age of fatalities associated with COVID-19 in Rowan County, which remained at 78.

There have been 76 deaths since the start of 2021 and 248 since the beginning of the pandemic.

The 102 positives added Tuesday marked a return to triple-digit increases after a two-day period below 100. Local statistics show 3,652 COVID-19 positives since the start of 2021 and nearly 12,500 since the start of the pandemic. Of those, 1,303 have been in congregate care facilities.

Recoveries have come more quickly in recent weeks and currently are at 6,685. Active cases, however, continue to increase because new positives have come faster than recoveries.

The number of Rowan County residents hospitalized remained unchanged Tuesday at 29. The number of locals hospitalized throughout the pandemic is 342.

There have been 113,014 COVID-19 tests conducted in Rowan County since the start of the pandemic.

In statistics updated Tuesday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said 7,819 Rowan County residents have received their first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine. That’s in addition to 1,327 second doses.

The Veterans Administration also began publishing vaccination statistics publicly on Tuesday, saying the Salisbury VA system has given 5,959 initial doses and completed the vaccination series for 337 veterans. Because the Salisbury VA serves veterans in and out of Rowan County, many of the people vaccinated may not be reflected in numbers for local residents.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services says 820,354 people have received a first dose of a vaccination and that 477,975 have received their second dose.

Demographics show an overwhelming majority of North Carolinians — 81% — who have received their first and second dose are white. Women have received more first and second doses than men. In part because of age requirements in vaccine phases, those 75 and older are the plurality of first doses (35%). At 47% of all second doses administered, those between 25 and 49 vastly outpace other groups in North Carolina.