Orange County continues to see its positive COVID-19 cases rise, as the coronavirus’ spread crossed 600 residents on Saturday.

According to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, the county reported 616 positive cases as of Saturday morning. The number represented a 23-case increase from Friday’s report. It took just eight days for the county to surpass another 100-case benchmark, having reached 500 cases on June 19.

Orange County’s first positive COVID-19 case was recorded in late March, when a patient at the UNC Medical Center tested positive.

Chatham County continues to see increases in its positive case count too. Saturday brought the total COVID-19 cases to 924, up from 916 the previous day.

As a state, North Carolina surpassed 60,000 positive cases on Saturday, with more than half of those North Carolinians having recovered. It comes just one day after the beginning of a statewide mask requirement issued in an executive order from Governor Roy Cooper. Orange County began its own face covering for residents on June 12, but updated elements to fit with the state’s measure on Friday.

North Carolina passed 1,000 total deaths from the coronavirus on June 8. Orange County’s death toll from COVID-19 remained at 41 as of Saturday.

To learn more about the local response to COVID-19, visit Orange County’s coronavirus web page.

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