Newton County Health Department announces nine COVID-19 deaths

The Newton County Health Department announced nine COVID-19 deaths Friday.

The deaths, according to a department news release, were due to "outbreaks in some local facilities. The local facilities have been battling the illness for the past month. Most residents have recovered from the virus and are doing well."

No details, including sex or ages of the fatalities were provided in the news release.

The deaths occurred over the last few weeks, but had just been reported to the health department and bring the county's total to 47.

Newton County confirmed 31 cases in 24 hours, according to statistics posted Friday evening on the Health Department Facebook page. The county has recorded 2,932 cases.