A day before a statewide stay at home order is enacted in North Carolina, more than 1,100 cases of coronavirus have been reported in the state.

Wake County reported a dozen new cases on Sunday, bringing the county’s total to 146.

A Sunday evening update from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said 1,167 people have tested positive for the illness, which is caused by the new coronavirus, while nearly 19,000 people have been tested.

As of Sunday evening, 91 people were hospitalized with the virus across the state. Six North Carolina residents have died from COVID-19, while an additional person from Virginia died while traveling through the state.

Buncombe County officials reported the county’s first death from COVID-19 on Sunday. Mecklenburg County officials also reported Sunday that a patient had died.

The News & Observer is keeping a real-time count of additional cases announced by counties updated throughout the day. The N&O reports the number of cases at 1,186. At least one case of coronavirus has been reported in 78 of the state’s 100 counties.

At 5 p.m. Monday, North Carolina’s stay at home order begins, the latest in a series of measures meant to stop the spread of a virus that has brought the daily rhythms of life to a halt in a matter of weeks.

North Carolina reported its first COVID-19 case on March 3 and crossed the 100-case threshold on March 19. The state has seen a steady rise in cases since then, with the number of new cases averaging 97 cases a day.

Sunday afternoon, Wake County Commissioner Matt Calabria and state Rep. Sydney Batch, a Raleigh Democrat, held a virtual town hall via Zoom.

“There really isn’t a family out there that’s not affected some way,” Calabria said.

“The county has gone so far as develop plans for drive through testing ... but it’s really hard to do drive through testing when on any given day you have 20 tests,” Calabria said. He said because of the shortage, tests are focused on particularly vulnerable populations like health care workers and people who are older than 65.

“We’re barking up every tree we can to make more tests available,” he said.

Batch said that “in an ideal world we’d test everyone, but we don’t live in an ideal world.”

The General Assembly is still scheduled to come back in session on April 28.

Batch said it’s not safe to call the more than 100 lawmakers back unless they can create a situation with less than 10 people together at once.

“None of us know when we’ll go back and what will occur when we go back,” Batch said.

“Once we get available testing, then a lot of stuff changes on the public health side,” Calabria said.

Wake, Durham and Mecklenburg cases

Wake County releases demographic information about the county’s cases, which showed the average age of COVID-19 patients is 45 years old, with two patients younger than 18 years old and three older than 85 years old.

Durham County has reported 107 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday evening.

Mecklenburg leads the state, with 336 cases reported Sunday evening by the state health department.

Gov. Roy Cooper announced the pending statewide stay at home order on Friday, saying the state would remain under the order for at least a month to try to prevent the new coronavirus that causes COVID-19 from spreading.

Under the state order, gatherings of 10 or more people are banned, the News & Observer previously reported.

Some counties were already under stay at home orders, such as Wake, where the county along with its 12 cities and towns enacted an order Friday night that is set to remain in effect until April 17. Orange County’s stay-at-home order also went into effect Friday, while the city of Durham’s began Thursday and Durham County’s begins Sunday at 5 p.m.

In parts of North Carolina where there is a local stay at home order in addition to the impending state order, Cooper said, the stricter of the two will be the one that is enforced.

Many churches held online worship services on Sunday, including Duke Chapel in Durham. The Rev. Luke Powery, dean of Duke Chapel, sent out an emailed message about Lent and Easter, which draws thousands to the university’s iconic chapel for services. Easter is April 12.

“This year, because we cannot gather in person for Easter, we must remember Easter is more than the service of celebration at Duke Chapel,” Powery said.

“Easter is also our individual, personal, celebration of the resurrection of Jesus Christ and the fulfillment of God’s promises of hope and new life for the entire world,” he said.

Grocery stores and takeout are open

Under the Triangle and state orders, residents can continue to shop for groceries and pick up needed medications at pharmacies, the News & Observer previously reported. You can also fill up your gas tank or pick up food from a restaurant.

Golf and tennis are allowed, but you cannot play a sport where you are likely to come into contact with another person such as basketball or soccer. Businesses deemed essential like hardware stores, construction and laundry service can remain open.

If you must leave home, governments are urging you to remember to remain at least six feet away from other people whenever possible to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

This story is being updated throughout the day.

This story was originally published March 29, 2020 at 10:57 AM.