LUMBERTON — Robeson County surpassed the grim milestone of 100 deaths related to COVID-19 when three were reported Tuesday by the Robeson County Health Department.

A total of 101 people have now died as a result of contracting the novel coronavirus since the first case was reported March 21.

There have been 10 deaths in the past six days, said Bill Smith, county Health Department director. Of those 10, three were people less than 60 years old.

A total of 5,850 county residents have tested positive for COVID-19 as of Monday, according to the Health Department.

“Hitting 100 is more of an eye-catching moment,” Smith said. “The message of masking, distancing and sanitizing has been said for seven months. If someone isn’t doing it, it isn’t because they don’t know better, it’s because they do not want to.”

Some of the people who died were positive about their outcome, he said.

“I am familiar with some of the deaths, and by and large, they were functioning people and had a good outlook, albeit not necessarily lengthy,” he said. “Unfortunately, many families did not get to say ‘good-bye’ and the patient died alone.

“There is nothing about this virus that should be taken lightly irrespective of a person’s age.”

Underlying health conditions is a main factor in the virus-related deaths throughout the state, Smith said.

“Half of North Carolinians have an underlying health condition — diabetes, blood pressure, overweight, asthma, lung issues, sickle cell, etc.,” he said. “It would be fair to say that almost all people had some condition that COVID was able to exacerbate.”

Robeson County represents 1.3% of the state’s population and has accounted for 2.4% of deaths related to COVID-19, according to the Health Department.

“This could be reflective of the relative unhealthiness of the residents,” Smith said.

Joann Anderson, the president and CEO of SeHealth, reiterated Smith’s message that it’s up to the individual to adhere to safety precautions put in place to lower the spread of the coronavirus.

“I am saddened to hear that we have reached 100 COVID-related deaths in Robeson County,” she said. “I believe that we should all be working together to reduce the spread of the virus, understanding that our actions could have consequences that reach beyond ourselves and impact others in our community.”

Southeastern Health has implemented every safety measure recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she said.

“We do not believe that there have been any cases of COVID-19 that have been contracted while any patients have been hospitalized at Southeastern Regional Medical Center,” Anderson said.

The chief medial officer for the Robeson Health Care Corporation stressed adhering to the mandate of wearing a face-covering, keeping a safe distance of at least 6 feet from others, and keeping hands clean throughout the day.

“This virus is significantly more deadly than the flu,” Dr. Eugene Nor said.

One of the deadliest thoughts among people is the misconception that because they are surrounded by people with whom they are familiar, they are safe, he said. People should not let their guard down for the sake of themselves and others.

“I worry about those who live in large families where multiple people are going into and out of the home every day as a part of their job or to go to stores, run errands, etc,” he said. “I think some people feel that since they live with someone, or see someone every day, that they are safe to be around.

“You don’t know who that person has been around during the course of a given day. It only takes one exposure involving one person in a given household to result in everyone in that household getting infected.”