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Beaufort County reported 20 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, raising its total case count to 3,325. Health officials now know of 885 active cases of COVID-19 among county residents.

Tuesday’s report from the Beaufort County Office of Emergency Services and Beaufort County Health Department also showed that 74 more county residents had recovered from the virus. In total, 2,371 Beaufort County residents have recovered from COVID-19.

Twenty-four county residents are currently hospitalized with COVID-19. Two of them are on ventilators.

The health department is currently administering COVID-19 vaccines to those in the first subgroup of Phase 1b of the state’s vaccination plan. Adults ages 75 and older are currently eligible to receive a vaccine. All of the health department’s appointments for January have been filled. The Washington Daily News will continue to provide updates as the vaccination plan progresses.

North Carolina reported 6,851 new cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, as well as 60 COVID-19-related deaths.

Eastern North Carolina counties with total confirmed cases include: Bertie, (1,361), Beaufort (3,325), Bladen (2,169), Brunswick (5,332), Carteret (3,188), Camden (368), Chowan (965), Columbus (4,278), Craven (6,012), Currituck (837), Dare (1,346), Duplin (4,694), Edgecombe (3,585), Gates (431), Greene (1,692), Halifax (3,500), Hertford (1,559),  Hyde (486), Jones (464), Lenoir (3,845), Martin (1,642), New Hanover (10,891), Northampton (1,236), Onslow (10,598), Pamlico (618), Pasquotank (2,170), Pender  (3,331), Perquimans (643), Pitt (13,247) Sampson (5,438), Tyrrell (206), Washington  (589), Wayne (8,148) and Wilson (6,435). Mecklenburg (72,968), Wake (53,188), Guilford (29,125), Forsyth (23,660), Gaston (18,415) and Durham (16,850) counties have the most cases.

FLU UPDATE

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be easy to forget that it’s also flu season.

Flu activity tends to peak between December and February, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Beaufort County Health Department said on Tuesday that four out of the 171 flu tests (2.3%) administered by the health department and its partners have come back positive. Not all of the department’s partners report their flu testing numbers.

“This reporting is not required by law, so we know testing is being done for the flu that we do not know of,” Madson said.

According to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, three flu-related deaths had been reported between Sept. 27, 2020, and Jan. 8, 2021.

The health department is holding or sponsoring COVID-19 testing opportunities throughout January at the following locations and times: Beaufort County Health Department, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-12 p.m.; Fresh Anointing Church in Aurora, Mondays, 11 a.m. -5 p.m.; The Wilkinson Center in Belhaven, Wednesdays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Spring Garden Missionary Baptist Church in Washington, Fridays, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.