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Polk has had 896 COVID-19 positives; up to 15 deaths

POLK COUNTY—Polk County added almost 300 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 3 weeks. 

The last data to come out from the Polk County Health and Human Service Agency was last Friday, with 896 positive cases since March and another 2 deaths since the last data on Dec. 18. On Dec. 18, Polk County had a total of 605 positive cases. 

As of last Friday, of the 896 cases, 792 were presumed recovered and 15 people have died from the virus. There were still 148 tests pending as of last Friday. Polk County’s percent positive rate last week was 14 percent. 

The county has completed 13,759 tests. 

The trajectory of percent positive tests is the highest now than it has ever been since the virus began last year in Polk County. 

There have been 42 cumulative hospitalizations from the virus in Polk County, according to the county’s data. 

Most of the positive cases remain in women, at 54.24 percent, compared to men at 45.76 percent. Most of the cases have been in people aged 25-49 years old, followed by people aged 50-64 years old, people 65-74 years old, people 75 and above, people 0-17 years old and people 18-24 years old. 

As of last Friday, the county had administered 371 vaccinations in the county, with 1,068 vaccinations scheduled to be administered. The county began its second week with this week of vaccinations. 

For more information about the virus or the vaccines in Polk County, call 828-722-5086. There is also a vaccine interest survey available at polknc.org. Drive-thru testing is still available once a week with no appointment needed and no cost.