Both the spread and severity of COVID-19 in Gaston County is continuing to slow as health leaders said last week a total of five people died due to the virus. Gaston's total COVID-19 death toll to date reached 391 on Friday, up from 386 the week prior. Since mid-October COVID-19 has claimed an average of more than two Gaston County lives each day but that rate has shown signs of slowing throughout the month of February. The total number of confirmed cases of the virus to date reached more than 23,600 cases, up from nearly 23,200 the week prior. The percent positive rate fell to 9.97%, its lowest mark in more than three months as the number of hospitalized patients also declined last week by nearly 30%.