Gaston County's COVID-19 death toll more than doubled in just the last two-and-a-half months of 2020. Data released last week by county health leaders indicates a total of 244 Gaston County residents died due to the virus through Dec. 28. It took more than six months for the death toll to top 101 deaths, the tally recorded on Oct. 15. Since then, an additional 143 local people have died, an average of just less than two deaths per day. The number of positive tests have more than doubled over the same span, growing from more than 6,300 positive tests to more than 14,900. The most recently available data shows the percentage of positive tests, 14.55%, from Dec. 5 to Dec. 12 is a slight improvement from the week prior at 15.8%.