Five new COVID-related deaths were announced Friday morning by the Chautauqua County Department of Health. To date there have been 134 fatalities.

The county also recorded 43 new confirmed cases, marking 7,213 since the pandemic began. Of those, 18 came from Jamestown, six from Dunkirk and four from Fredonia.

The number of active cases continues to drop, from 233 reported Thursday to 229 on Friday; the number of people with the virus in the hospital remains at 27, while the seven-day positivity rate dropped to 3.2%, down from the 4.4% announced Thursday.