FROM STAFF REPORTS

Four more deaths attributed to COVID-19 were reported in Iredell County on Tuesday as the number of laboratory confirmed cases continues to surge across the county and the United States.

The Iredell County Health Department reported the county’s 53rd, 54th, 55th and 56th deaths, along with 74 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Health officials do not release personal information about individuals who test positive, including those who pass away.

The infection rate is increasing with a positive test rate now of 8.3 percent and trending upward.

In an interview Tuesday afternoon, Health Director Jane Hinson said COVID-19 is being spread at family gatherings, at social gatherings, in churches and in schools. Watch the interview HERE.

Hinson implores residents to wear face coverings, practice social distancing and wash their hands frequently to help prevent further spread of COVID-19

Since the onset of the pandemic in early March, there have been 4,885 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iredell County.

Twenty-three people who have tested positive for COVID-19 are currently hospitalized in the county, and 770 others who have been infected with the novel coronavirus are isolating at home, according to health officials.

Some 4,036 people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Iredell County are now presumed recovered, but they may develop long-term health issues.