SALISBURY — COVID-19 deaths continued to come several at a time on Monday when state health officials reported seven new fatalities among local residents.

The seven new deaths bring the total to 27 in Rowan County this month and 377 since the start of the pandemic. This month is on track to become deadlier than August, currently the third-deadliest in Rowan County since the start of the pandemic. Data from the Rowan County Health Department show a majority of September COVID-19 deaths have occurred among unvaccinated people.

N.C. Department of Health and Human Services data show 70 Rowan County residents died from COVID-19 in January — the deadliest month during the pandemic — and 42 in December.

Vaccination numbers are improving slowly. State data show 71,206 Rowan County residents have received at least one dose of a vaccine. Among them, 65,285 are considered fully vaccinated. Those numbers represent 50% and 46% of the population, respectively. After removing people 12 and younger, the age group for which vaccines haven’t been officially approved, nearly 60% of Rowan County residents have received at least one shot.

People who want to be vaccinated for COVID-19 can visit vaccines.gov to find a site closest to them. Hood Theological Seminary will also host a vaccination clinic Oct. 16 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the seminary, 1810 Lutheran Synod Drive in Salisbury. Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will be available.

New COVID-19 positives continue to decline across North Carolina. Just 44 were reported on Monday in Rowan County. In the previous two weeks, state data show 1,390 positives in Rowan.

Cases in schools also are declining. After seeing a peak of about 300 positives and more than 3,000 quarantines earlier this month, Rowan-Salisbury Schools this week reported 44 positive student cases and 963 quarantines. There are 15 active staff cases and 43 staff quarantines.

Hospitalizations are declining, too. State data on Monday showed 800 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in Rowan County’s region, the Triad Health Care Preparedness Coalition compared to 885 on Sept. 1.