North Carolina announces first deaths from coronavirus
North Carolina has announced its first deaths from the coronavirus.
Gov. Roy Cooper said in a news release Wednesday morning that a person from Cabarrus County died Tuesday from complications associated with the virus. The person was in their late 70s and had several medical conditions, Cooper said.
A second person in their 60s from Virginia who was traveling through North Carolina also died. On Thursday, state officials announced the death of a Harnett County patient, in their late 30s with an underlying medical condition, to COVID-19.
“Earlier today we shared that North Carolina has counted our first COVID-19 deaths,” Cooper said during a Wednesday afternoon news conference. “It’s with a heavy heart I must tell you these will not be our last.”
North Carolina had stood out among the nation’s largest states because it had yet to record a death due to coronavirus. The nation’s ninth most populous state, with more than 10.5 million residents, North Carolina was 18th in total number of reported coronavirus cases, as of Tuesday, according the New York Times.
Virginia and South Carolina, neighboring states with smaller populations, had reported seven COVID-related deaths each, according to the New York Times’ tally as of noon Wednesday.
North Carolina officials updated the state’s total number of reported cases to more than 500 on Wednesday morning, an increase of more than 100 infected people over the previous day’s total.
The new total included 12 cases in Cabarrus County.
“We know today that a number of patients who are currently hospitalized are seriously ill, and some in critical condition,” Cooper said. “They are fighting for their lives. And it’s awful for their families who know their loved ones are suffering but because of this cruel and contagious sickness cannot even be with them.
“Today is a stark reminder that we must take this disease seriously. All of us. This virus can be deadly, and that’s why our daily lives have had to change so dramatically.”
This story was originally published March 25, 2020 at 11:22 AM.