After recent drops in new coronavirus cases, North Carolina sees increases again
Newly reported coronavirus cases rose again Thursday to 1,763, the highest number in more than a week.
The daily case count is still lower than the record of 2,481 hit in mid-July.
The new lab-confirmed coronavirus cases in North Carolina bring the total in the state to 140,824 since March. The official total is likely an undercount because tests were rationed early in the pandemic.
The state Department of Health and Human Services announced Wednesday errors in its calculations of total tests dating to April. The corrected error reduced total tests performed by more than 221,000, to about 1.8 million.
One of the country’s major diagnostic labs, LabCorp, had mixed out-of-state test numbers with North Carolina numbers it sent manually to the state agency.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, told reporters Wednesday that the other information on its public facing dashboard, including cases and how many cases are positive, is based on data submitted electronically and is accurate.
New daily cases have been trending down since late July, and Cohen said Wednesday that all information taken together shows that viral spread is slowing.
DHHS announced 38 more deaths from COVID-19 Thursday, bringing the total in the state to 2,287.
People in hospitals with COVID-19 rose by eight on Wednesday to 1,070, with 90% of hospitals reporting.
The state has been in Phase Two of reopening since May 22, which allowed restaurant dining rooms and personal care businesses to reopen at limited capacity, but has kept bars, gyms, and other entertainment venues closed.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who is challenging Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper in this fall’s election, sued Cooper over his executive orders, saying Cooper should have sought concurrence from the Council of State. A judge ruled against Forest, and the lieutenant governor dropped his lawsuit Wednesday night, The News & Observer reported.
This story was originally published August 13, 2020 at 1:41 PM.