Forsyth County saw a significant spike in COVID-19 deaths in September.
Sixty-six county residents have died from the virus since September 1, according to data released by the health department. That means about 12% of all COVID-19 related deaths in the county happened in the last month or so.
Forsyth County Public Health Director Joshua Swift says the increase wasn't unexpected, given the rise in cases the county saw in late summer.
“What we've seen throughout the pandemic, when there has been an increase in cases, weeks later cases may go down, but people still could have COVID and they end up having complications," said Swift. "So it's just it's a lagging indicator.”
Cases are beginning to level off though. The county is now averaging about 130 new cases per day. Swift says during the peak of the delta variant-driven surge around Labor Day, that number was well over 200.