Reported coronavirus cases increase in Wake and Orange counties’ 18-24 age group
North Carolina reported 1,972 new COVID-19 cases Thursday, and the rolling average of new cases has increased sharply this week after a weeks-long decline.
The number of reported coronavirus cases in the state was 149,904, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. That number, however, is likely an undercount because testing wasn’t widespread in North Carolina in the beginning of the pandemic, which was first reported in the state in early March.
NCDHHS reported an increase of 34 coronavirus-related deaths in the state, bringing the total to 2,465.
Among the 21,375 tests completed on Wednesday, 8% were positive, up from 7% the day before. State health officials want that number to be 5% or lower.
Reported coronavirus hospitalizations increased by 22 to 1,023 with 92% of hospitals in North Carolina reporting. Overall hospitalizations statewide have been trending downwards over the past few weeks.
Since colleges and universities have returned to class, there have been reported clusters on campuses.
Orange County, where UNC-Chapel Hill is located, added 88 positive cases Thursday for a total of 1,650 positive cases. Thursday’s new cases were the highest one-day total reported since March.
The number of positive cases for people aged 18 to 24 is now 520, or 32% of cases in Orange County, according to NCDHHS. This is an increase from the 28% reported on Wednesday. Statewide, that same age group tests positive at a rate of 14%.
The university has reported six clusters and moved classes to all online on Wednesday, just one week into the fall semester. The school also announced on Wednesday it was suspending athletics for 24 hours.
UNC only updates its COVID-19 dashboard once a week, although both Carrboro and Chapel Hill leaders have urged the university to publish daily updates.
On Monday, UNC’s dashboard showed 279 positive student cases since February — 130 of those were added last week— and 45 positive employee cases.
However, the data provided for UNC students by Orange County and UNC may be incomplete. Health officials have said results may be delayed for students who are tested off-campus and do not self-report their results to UNC and for students who provide an out-of-county address on their testing form.
Health officials said it could take at least a week for Orange County to receive those results.
In Wake County, home to N.C. State University, county officials reported a 100-case increase among people 18-24. New cases among that age group in the county have increased over the past week.
N.C. State reported its second and third clusters on Wednesday. On Thursday, the university transitioned to online classes only for undergraduates.
East Carolina and Appalachian State universities have also reported coronavirus clusters.
Tammy Grubb contributed to this story.
This story was originally published August 20, 2020 at 1:50 PM.