Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on June 14

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We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date news about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.

Cases top 44,000

At least 44,263 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 1,132 have died, according to state and county health departments.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday reported an additional 1,443 cases of the virus, up from 1,428 the day before. Sunday’s daily count is the second-highest reported since the start of the pandemic, behind the 1,768 reported Friday.

Another 15,400 coronavirus tests were performed for a total of 627,130,and the percentage of those with positive results remained at 10%.

At least 798 North Carolinians were hospitalized with COVID-19 Sunday, down from 823 on Saturday — the record daily high.

NC hits its first peak

The percentage of positive cases continuing to climb puts North Carolina in the midst of its “first wave” — or peak, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said Friday.

Cohen said the positive coronavirus test rate is “among the highest in the country,” The News & Observer reported, and it correlates with when the state started to reopen on May 8.

“This isn’t a second wave. This for us is a first,” Cohen said. “I think this is our first experience at an increase. It reminds us that this virus is here, and we have to live with this virus, because we don’t have a vaccine. We don’t have a cure.”

Judge rules against Butner inmates

A group of inmates at Butner lost a legal bid to free prisoners vulnerable to COVID-19 on Friday when a federal judge ruled against them.

U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan said they failed to prove prison officials had treated them with “deliberate indifference” when considering the threat of the coronavirus.

“The court agrees with petitioners that the public interest is served by preventing unnecessary illness and death and slowing the spread of the virus,” Flanagan said in her decision. “Respondents, however, have made reasonable efforts to achieve those goals.”

Hospitalizations hit another record high

At least 823 coronavirus patients were in North Carolina hospitals on Saturday, the highest total since the state began tracking the figure. The number had fallen to 760 on Friday after four straight days of breaking records, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

The number of people hospitalized for COVID-19-like illnesses is one of the metrics DHHS is using to gauge the state’s progress in containing the virus.

This story was originally published June 14, 2020 at 8:32 AM.