LUMBERTON — For the third straight week, the Robeson County Health Department has reported a drop in new confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus, but unlike the past two weeks the number of virus-related deaths in the county also dropped.

There have been 182 cases in the county over the past seven days, down from 184 cases over the previous seven days and 475 cases in the week ending Sept. 11, said Bill Smith, county Health Department director.

Three virus-related deaths were reported in the past seven days, down from six in the previous seven days. At least two of the three individuals who died were age 65 or older, Smith said.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 4,403 confirmed cases and 75 deaths have been reported in Robeson County.

Southeastern Health reported there are currently 22 virus-positive patients at Southeastern Regional Medical Center as of 11 a.m. Friday, down from 27 on Sept. 18. There are still 20 employees quarantined because of possible exposure. That number has remained constant for the past four weeks.

The University of North Carolina at Pembroke reported 13 active cases among students as of 5 p.m. Friday, down from 27 on Sept. 18 and down from a peak of 93 on Aug. 31. There were 11 new cases among students at the university this week, for a total of 228 cases.

Among faculty and staff, there have been two new cases in the past week, for a total of 13 cases. Two cases remain active, the same number as Sept. 18. No new cases were reported among subcontractors, with one previous case remaining active.

Statewide, 9,316 new cases were reported by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services over the past seven days, for a total of 204,331 cases since the pandemic began. There have been 89 virus-related deaths in North Carolina in the past seven days, for a total of 3,409 since the pandemic began.

There currently are 903 virus-related hospitalizations in North Carolina, a slight increase from the past week.

In other virus-related news, the Public Schools of Robeson County will begin to post the number of school-related cases on the district’s website. Doing so will allow families, staff and community members to more clearly see the pandemic’s impact on the school system. This information will not include identifying information, including school location, because of privacy laws.

“Like all other districts in North Carolina, the Public Schools of Robeson County is concerned about the well-being and health of our students, staff and parents,” interim Superintendent Loistine DeFreece said. “This new tool will help our community and our school district make more informed decisions based on the data.”

Also, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday that Medicaid beneficiaries on the NC Innovations Waiver and are attending school virtually can now receive additional waiver support.

This will allow individuals to access Innovations Waiver respite during remote learning. Other services will continue to be accessible outside of school and/or remote-learning hours.

“The pandemic is challenging enough,” said Mandy Cohen, NCDHHS secretary. “We need to ensure that children with intellectual and developmental disabilities have the assistance to successfully participate in remote learning.”