North Carolina reaches milestone in 1 month: 2,000 positive coronavirus cases
Just one month after Wake County reported the first positive COVID-19 case in the state, North Carolina has now reached a new milestone.
It has surpassed 2,000 positive cases of COVID-19, according to data kept by The News & Observer. There are at least 2,023 cases.
The News & Observer is keeping a separate tally based on reports from the state and county health departments, which is typically higher because the state takes longer to confirm positive tests.
The state reported 1,857 total cases Thursday morning.
North Carolina is now the 19th state in the country to reach 2,000 positive cases of COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus, according to a map from The New York Times, which keeps track of numbers from every state.
The number of cases likely is higher, as some counties, including Wake, have decided not to test people with mild symptoms, asking them to instead stay at home and self-isolate.
Wake County reported 16 additional cases of the new coronavirus Thursday evening, increasing its total to 247 cases. It has the second most confirmed cases behind Mecklenburg County, which has 533 positive cases.
Wake’s numbers have increased every day since its first reported case on March 2.
More than 28,000 tests have been completed across the state, according to the state.
Durham County reported 14 new cases, upping its total count to 155 cases.
And the state health department reported Orange County had 37 confirmed cases, with the county reporting Wednesday that two of them are connected to PruittHealth – Carolina Point.
North Carolina has been under stay-at-home orders since Monday. Some counties, including Wake County, the City of Durham and Orange County, issued their own stay-at-home orders the week before. Under the state order, non-essential business have closed, and gathering of more than 10 people have been banned.
Gov. Roy Cooper will hold a virtual press conference on Friday.
In a daily press briefing Thursday afternoon, Mandy Cohen, secretary for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, continued to reiterate the need for people to stay home.
She said there were 16 deaths and 184 people hospitalized as of Thursday. Those numbers are expected to increase.
She added that there are coronavirus cases in 83 counties in North Carolina. Of those: 9% are ages 18-24, 42% in ages 25-49, 27% in ages 50-64, and 20% in people 65 and older.
“The one thing we can do together is stay home,” Cohen said. “Stay home and save lives.”
This story was originally published April 2, 2020 at 7:08 PM.
