Coronavirus hospitalizations in NC increase again — and reach another new high
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,011 new cases of COVID-19 Wednesday, and 24 new deaths, while the number of people hospitalized because of the virus reached a new high.
On Tuesday, hospitalizations in the state set a record, and that number increased by six to 780 Wednesday.
It was the fourth day in a week that North Carolina has exceeded 1,000 cases in day, NC DHHS secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said Wednesday in a press briefing.
Since about mid-May, the number of people reported hospitalized because of COVID-19 has steadily increased. Before May 25, the number of people in the hospital because of the virus hadn’t reached 600.
“I continue to be concerned,” Cohen said. “Many of our neighboring states in the southeast are seeing similar trends. It is a reminder that COVID-19 is still a powerful threat, and this virus is going to be with us for some time.”
Hospitalizations is one metric state public health officials use to track the course of the coronavirus outbreak over time. It is also one of four metrics officials are using to look at whether they can move forward with easing restrictions. North Carolina has been in Phase Two of easing restrictions since May 22.
Phase Two runs through at least June 26.
The state continues to test more people for COVID-19. From Tuesday to Wednesday, the state reported that it completed nearly 18,000 tests. More than 553,000 people have been tested for COVID-19 in North Carolina.
The percentage of people who have tested positive is at 8 percent.
Cohen said the state wants to rapidly increase testing for people who may have been exposed to COVID-19, but are not experiencing symptoms, especially people from historically marginalized communities.
Director of NC Emergency Management Mike Sprayberry said the state now has a 30-day supply of all key PPE (Personal Protective Equipment) items, such as fask masks, face shields and gloves.
“For some of these items we have supplies to last several months,” he said. “This is good news.”
The News & Observer is keeping its own tally of coronavirus numbers based on data from the state’s DHHS and county health departments. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 38,109 cases and 1,089 deaths from COVID-19.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 12:36 PM.
