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A ninth COVID-19-positive person has died in Beaufort County, according to the Beaufort County Health Department.

The 56-year-old died Thursday, according Jim Madson, director of BCHD. The person had several underlying conditions, he said.

Beaufort County had a total 468 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Thursday, an increase of 15 overnight. There are currently 170 active cases in the county and nine people are hospitalized, according to the Thursday update from Beaufort County Emergency Services and Beaufort County Health Department.

Beaufort County’s number of total cases has increased dramatically over the last month, with nearly 364 new positive cases since Fourth of July weekend. According to the update, 289 of those positive cases have recovered from the virus.

Contact tracing of the known, confirmed cases has concluded:

• 191 cases have been attributed to direct contact with another known positive case;
• two cases were related to travel to a known outbreak area;
• 75 cases are attributed to community spread;
• 200 cases are still under investigation.

All active cases are self-isolating, the update reads.

The total number of cases that have been confirmed in the U.S. rose from 5,181,637 Wednesday to 5,236,599 Thursday; these numbers include 1,755,225 people in the U.S. presumed recovered from COVID-19. The U.S. has the highest total number of cases worldwide; worldwide, there have been 20,724,799 confirmed cases. Nationwide, 166,750 deaths have been attributed to the virus, an increase of 1,219 overnight.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina continued to rise from 139,739 Wednesday to 141,564 Thursday. There have been 2,321 deaths in the state attributed to the virus, an increase of 31 overnight. The state currently has 1,070 COVID-19 associated hospitalizations and 116,969 people are presumed recovered from the virus in North Carolina.

“Sixty-four of our total positives were asymptomatic at the time of their test,” the update reads.

Eastern North Carolina counties total COVID-19 cases as of Thursday numbered (does not include number of recovered): Bertie (294), Beaufort (468), Bladen (634), Brunswick (1,287), Carteret (376), Camden (76), Chowan (160), Columbus (950), Craven (753), Currituck (78); Dare (211), Duplin (2,017), Edgecombe (691), Gates (49), Greene (336), Halifax (746), Hertford (365), Hyde (48), Jones (99), Lenoir (600), Martin (268), New Hanover (2,696), Northampton (351), Onslow (1,174), Pamlico (73), Pasquotank (430), Pender (675), Perquimans (90), Pitt (2,161), Sampson (1,511), Tyrrell (99), Washington (136), Wayne (2,463) and Wilson (1,539). Durham (6,298), Mecklenburg (22,803) and Wake (12,406) counties have the most cases in North Carolina.

There had been 5,242 tests completed in Beaufort County as of Thursday, with 4,721 negatives, 441 positives and 80 pending. These are cumulative numbers and include tests performed at the health department and reporting private medical facilities through the county. Nine of Beaufort County’s cases were tested in other counties but are Beaufort County residents.

“There were approximately 1,000 tests completed in Beaufort County last week,” the update says.

The update reminded county residents to “practice the Three W’s:” wear face coverings, wait six feet apart and wash your hands often.