SALISBURY — Rowan County reported a COVID-19 death at Liberty Commons on Wednesday, marking the 15th death there and 121 deaths total.

Wednesday’s deaths put the county sixth in the state for most reported COVID-19 deaths. All but 45 are among congregate care facilities, and the average age among the deaths remains 80.

And after adding 31 cases, Rowan County now has 4,316 cases reported since March, making it 17th in the state for most reported cases per 10,000 residents. Of those, 524, or 12%, are currently active, while 3,671 people have recovered. The average age among all cases is 43.8, and the plurality of cases have occurred among those aged 18-35 years old.

Currently, 22 Rowan Countians are being hospitalized. To date, the county’s highest number of current hospitalizations is 29.

Rowan County still has active outbreaks at eight local congregate care facilities, including Accordius Health, Brightmoor Nursing Center, Elmcroft of Salisbury, The Laurels, Liberty Commons, The Meadows of Rockwell Retirement Center, N.C. State Veterans Home, Trinity Oaks Health and Rehab and Piedmont Correctional Institute. The latest data from the North Carolina Department of Public Safety show five active cases at Piedmont Correctional Institute, with 77 presumed recovered.

Additionally, state data show a cluster of 20 cases at Rockwell Christian School.

The daily rate of tests returning positive increased significantly on Wednesday after state health officials reported 2,425 new cases. That totals 282,802 cases from 4.17 million tests and a daily positive rate of 7.4%. A total of 4,507 people have died, and 1,186 North Carolinians are currently being hospitalized.

The CDC reports 88,427 new COVID-19 cases across the nation and 1,095 new deaths. That amounts to a total of 9.36 million cases reported since January, with 604,452 of those within the last seven days. A total of 231,988 people have died of COVID-19 across the nation.

North Carolina currently ranks 31st in the U.S. for most COVID-19 cases reported per 100,000 residents within the last seven days, according to the CDC.

Contact reporter Natalie Anderson at 704-797-4246.