North Carolina’s number of reported COVID-19 cases continued to increase Sunday as the state identified 183 new cases in 89 counties.

The number of COVID-19 cases reported by the state Sunday morning increased to 2,585 from 2,402 on Saturday morning, according the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

DHHS reported 31 deaths and 261 people hospitalized. Those numbers are up from 24 deaths as of Saturday and down from the 271 reported hospitalized.

Overall reported COVID-19 tests increased by 1,272 to 40,045 from Saturday to Sunday.

The first weekend with a statewide stay-at-home order in place was also the weekend many Christians celebrated Palm Sunday.

In more normal times, said Monsignor David Brockman, the rector of Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral in Raleigh, late-arriving parishioners would have been fortunate to find seats inside. There’s room for 2,000 people in the cathedral, and every pew would’ve been filled to capacity.

But on Sunday, signs posted on the doors warned that the building was closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Inside, the 62 pews in the cathedral’s main wing sat empty. Minutes before 10 a.m., Brockman and others prepared to deliver mass to an empty building — and to an online audience.

Cases, deaths grow

The News & Observer is keeping a tally based on reports from the state and county health departments, which is typically higher than the state’s total because the state takes longer to confirm positive tests.

The number of cases passed 2,000 Thursday night. By Sunday night, The News & Observer’s count reached 2,674 cases. By that count, 91 of North Carolina’s 100 counties have reported cases and 38 people in the state have died.

As of Sunday evening, there were 308 cases in Wake County, 188 in Durham County and 52 in Orange County.

Cases in Mecklenburg County, which has the most cases in the state, reached 665 Mecklenburg also reported two new deaths Sunday, raising the county’s total to six.

Saturday marked Durham County’s first reported death. The Durham resident was over 65 years old and had underlying health conditions, Durham County reported in a news release.

Johnston County reported a third death Saturday related to coronavirus, though it did not release any information about the person who died, other than the death occurred Saturday morning, according to a county spokesperson.

Four coronavirus cases in Johnston County are associated with a nursing and rehab center in Clayton, according to a release from the county. Three residents and one staff member at the Springbrook Rehabilitation and Nursing Center have tested positive.

Twenty-three new cases were announced Sunday at an assisted living facility in Hendersonville in western North Carolina. Statewide, DHHS says there have been outbreaks at eight nursing homes and four residential care facilities.

A prison inmate at Johnston Correctional Institution in Smithfield is one of seven state inmates in North Carolina who have tested positive for COVID-19, according to John Bull, a N.C. Department of Public Safety spokesperson. That includes four cases at Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro.

And in the federal prison system, 11 inmates and one staff member have tested positive for coronavirus at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex.

Dire warning for nation

As of Sunday, nearly 305,000 cases had been reported in the U.S. and more than 7,600 deaths, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Over the weekend, two federal officials issued stark warnings to the nation. Surgeon General Jerome Adams warned during an appearance on “Fox News Sunday” that the coming week would be America’s “Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment” in the coronavirus pandemic, McClatchy News reported.

“Well, it’s tragically fitting that we’re talking at the beginning of Holy Week because this is going to be the hardest and the saddest week of most Americans’ lives, quite frankly,” Adams said.

“This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it’s not going to be localized. It’s going to be happening all over the country. And I want America to understand that.”

Adams said the public, along with state and local governments, could change the trajectory of the COVID-19 outbreak if everyone does their part over the next 30 days.

On Saturday, Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, said the next two weeks are going to be extremely important, McClatchy News reported.

“This is the moment to not be going to the grocery store, not going to the pharmacy, but doing everything you can to keep your family and your friends safe,” she said.

This story was originally published April 5, 2020 at 11:19 AM.