COVID-19 UPDATE

Burke County public health reports the sixty-seventh COVID-19 related death in Burke.

The individual, reports say, was in their 70’s and was hospitalized when they died from virus-related complications.

Meanwhile, the number of positive cases in Burke increased by 52 Tuesday afternoon, bringing the county total to 3-thousand-974 positives.

713 cases are active, while 14 local residents are hospitalized.

In McDowell, health officials report 25 new positive cases, with a total of positives amounting to 1-thousand-667.

221 McDowell residents are in quarantine.

Mask Mandate

The governor’s newest executive order goes into effect this afternoon at 5 which tightens the mask mandate for NC residents.

In a news release from the Burke County Health Department, some things to remember about the new order –

A face covering is required in all indoor settings if there are non-household members present regardless of the distance between.

Face coverings are still required in outdoor settings if individuals are unable to stay more than six feet away from non-household members.

Face coverings are now required while exercising inside indoor gyms and fitness facilities.

In restaurants, guests are required to wear face coverings at their table unless actively eating or drinking.

Retail businesses with more than 15-thousand square feet of interior space must have workers at each public entrance who shall be responsible for enforcing the face covering order, as well as ensuring the emergency maximum occupancy requirement.

Customers using public transportation can be denied service for those refusing to wear a face covering.

And the executive order’s face covering requirements are now enforceable by law enforcement.

Lenoir Drug Arrest

A traffic violation turns into a drug arrest for a Lenoir woman.

29-year-old Elizabeth Jane Lewis faces multiple felony drug charges following a traffic stop last Friday.

A report from the Lenoir Police Department says officers executed the stop, while K-9s alerted to the presence of illegal narcotics.

During a search of the vehicle, police located fentanyl, xanax, US currency, and assorted drug paraphernalia.

Lewis was taken into custody, reports say, and was found to also be in possession of point-8 grams of meth – discovered on her person prior to booking.

Total value of seized drugs; 48-hundred dollars, according to the state drug guidelines.

Lewis was issued a 40-thousand-300-dollar secured bond.

More charges are pending.

Truck Stolen

Authorities are looking for a truck that was stolen from a Marion business on Monday.

An employee of Cumberland Gravel and Sand on Old Glenwood Road told officers someone took the gray 2011 Ford F-150 from the business.

Four impact guns, an industrial welder, air compressor, and other tools were stolen as well.

Anyone having knowledge of the theft, the suspect, or whereabouts of the stolen goods should call McDowell detective Lambert at 828-652-2237 or McDowell Crimestoppers at 65-CRIME.