FROM STAFF REPORTS

Iredell County health officials reported 577 new laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Friday as the county’s positivity rate remained above 30 percent.

The new cases increased the total number of confirmed cases in the county since the onset of the pandemic in March of 2020 to 38,581. The health department has reported a total of 2,676 new cases in the past seven days, according to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.

With five new deaths reported since Tuesday, there have now been a total of 376 deaths in Iredell attributed to COVID-19. Health officials do not release personal information about COVID-19 patients, including those who pass away.

A total of 82 COVID-19 patients are hospitalized throughout the county, including 17 patients who do not reside in Iredell.

According to the CDC, only 53.4 percent of Iredell County residents age 5 and older have been fully vaccinated.