Lee County’s number of confirmed COVID cases jumped by 65 since last Monday, bringing the total number of residents who have tested positive to 1,640, according to a press release.

Additionally, a 15th resident was reported to have died Monday due to complications from the disease. Details about the patient, who died at Central Carolina Hospital, were not released in accordance with federal health privacy laws.

“We offer sincere condolences to the family and friends of this individual and ask the community to keep them in your thoughts and prayers,” said Lee County Health Director Heath Cain. “This highly contagious virus remains a serious risk to public health and safety and we encourage the public to continue following guidance that includes wearing a mask in public, watching your distance to remain 6 feet or more away from others, and washing hands thoroughly and frequently.”

The 65 new cases between Sept. 21 and 28 represent an increase from totals confirmed in recent weeks. New cases had been in the 40s for the previous two weeks.

Meanwhile, the number of active cases – patients who have yet to recover – jumped to 114. That total was at 87 on Sept. 21. The rolling seven day average for new cases is 8.43 – up from 5.6 last week – and the test positivity rate is at four percent, down from 6.2 percent last week.

Some demographic data about cases is available at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services COVID dashboard.

The Health Department will hold community testing events at 106 Hillcrest Drive every Tuesday through October from 9 to 11 a.m. by appointment only. To make an appointment, call (984) 368-2112 Monday through Friday from 9 to 11:30 a.m. or 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. PM.

There will also be a drive-thru community testing event taking place on October 3 from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. at W.B. Wicker Elementary School, 806 S. Vance St. The public is strongly encouraged to pre-register by calling (919) 542-4991, ext. 1015 for English and ext. 1016 for Spanish between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.