Wake County is second in NC in reported coronavirus cases and deaths
Wake County has reported more than 200 COVID-19 deaths and 15,000 confirmed cases, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
DHHS reported Wednesday that there have been 15,297 COVID-19 cases and 201 COVID-19-related deaths in Wake County since the pandemic was first diagnosed in the state in early March. In both categories, Wake is second only to Mecklenburg, which has reported 25,703 confirmed cases and 298 deaths.
Statewide, DHHS has reported 170,553 COVID-19 cases and 2,779 deaths.
Elsewhere in the Triangle, Durham County has reported 6,968 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 84 associated deaths. Orange County has reported 2,323 cases and 50 deaths.
Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that gyms will be allowed to open Friday at 30% capacity, while some attractions like museums and aquariums will be able to open at 50% capacity. The change came a week earlier than expected, the News & Observer reported, but Cooper said they are possible because statewide numbers are beginning to stabilize.
Cases in the Triangle spiked in August when students returned to campus at local universities, but UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State University have both largely closed on-campus dormitories and shifted to online learning. At UNC, the changes seem to have slowed the number of new cases, with the university reporting 11 positive cases on Tuesday, a small amount of the more than 900 confirmed cases since classes began.
Here’s a breakdown of the coronavirus in the Triangle.
Wake County
Younger people make up most of Wake County’s confirmed reported cases, with 25 to 49 year olds accounting for 6,379 cases, or roughly 42% of the county’s positive cases. Additionally, people between 18 and 24 years old account for 3,293 cases, or about 22%, with cases among that group rising dramatically in late August according to the county’s COVID-19 dashboard.
Those who are at least 65 years old have accounted for a much smaller share of the county’s cases, but the vast majority of its deaths. The group makes up about 10% of the county’s cases, totaling 1,591, but 85% of its COVID-19 deaths, or 172 people. Of those 172, 130 were at least 75 years old.
There are 24 ongoing outbreaks at nursing homes or residential care facilities in Wake County, according to information released by DHHS Tuesday. The state defines two or more cases in congregant living facilities as an outbreak.
The largest of those is at The Laurels of Forest Glenn, where 98 people have tested positive for COVID-19 and 13 have died. Another outbreak, at Hillside Nursing Center of Wake Forest, has led to the deaths of 19 residents.
In total, 88 patients have reportedly died of COVID-19 in ongoing outbreaks at nursing homes in Wake County, according to the DHHS. Another six patients have died in ongoing outbreaks at residential care facilities in the county.
The Wake County jail also has an ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, according to DHHS, with 26 inmates testing positive for the virus.
A COVID-19 cluster at the Goddard School of Holly Springs is still ongoing, according to DHHS, but has not grown more severe since last week with 12 confirmed cases. The state defines clusters in childcare centers or schools as five confirmed COVID-19 cases within two weeks.
N.C. State University has reported 885 COVID-19 cases, but the university’s online coronavirus dashboard has not updated since Aug. 30. The News & Observer reported that a spokesperson said the school has a backlog of tests and will update the dashboard as results become available.
Durham County
The majority of Durham County’s COVID-19 cases have been among Hispanic residents, according to DHHS data. The group account for roughly 60% of the 4,987 cases for which data about the patient’s ethnicity is available. There are another 1,981 cases without that data, according to DHHS.
Like Wake County, younger people account for most of Durham’s cases, with 3,408 cases among 25- to 49-year-olds, or about 49% of the county’s total. Another 924 cases, or about 13% of the county’s total, are among 18- to 24-year-olds.
Duke University has reported 46 COVID-19 cases despite conducting more than 17,000 tests since Aug. 2, a positive rate of about 0.3%.
Duke officials attribute the low number of cases to an aggressive testing strategy in which every student was tested as they moved on to campus and isolated until results were available, according to the News & Observer. The university has also implemented pool testing, a strategy that allows the university to test five swabs at once instead of one at a time.
N.C. Central University has reported 21 COVID-19 cases among students, with seven more among faculty. A subcontractor at the school has also tested positive, according to N.C. Central’s COVID-19 website, last updated August 31.
Also like Wake, older people have counted for the majority of the county’s 84 deaths. Of those, 49, or 58% were among people who are at least 75 years old, while people who are at least 65 accounted for 20 more deaths.
DHHS reported ongoing outbreaks at eight nursing homes in Durham and one residential care facility. The largest of these is at Carver Living Center, where 85 patients and 36 staff members have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, with 10 patients dying from the virus.
An outbreak at the Durham County jail has resulted in 21 inmates and eight staff members testing positive, according to DHHS.
There are also ongoing COVID-19 clusters at a pair of Durham childcare facilities. Seven children tested positive at Duke Street KinderCare and three children and two staff members tested positive at a Childcare Network facility on Rippling Stream Road.
Orange County
In Orange County, the home of UNC-Chapel Hill, about 47% of cases have been among people who are between 18 and 24 years old. That accounts for 1,077 people, according to DHHS.
According to UNC’s COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 920 confirmed cases of COVID-19 among students and faculty since Aug. 12 and 1,111 cases since February. After accelerating rapidly as students returned to campus, the number of new cases has slowed dramatically as the school moved students out of dorms and shifted to largely online classes.
Orange is the sole Triangle county where people who are between 25 and 49 years old are not the highest share of cases, with the group’s 605 positives making up about 26% of the county’s cases.
Of the county’s 50 reported COVID-19 deaths, 42 are among people who are at least 65 years old.
In Orange County, there are two outbreaks at residential care facilities and one at a nursing home. The largest of these is at The Stratford, where there are 29 cases and three deaths among patients, while 11 staff members have also tested positive for COVID-19.
The Orange County Detention Center has reported an outbreak of three staff members and one inmate, while the state’s Orange Correctional Center has reported three cases among inmates.
This reporting is financially supported by Report for America/GroundTruth Project and The North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, a component fund of the North Carolina Community Foundation. The News & Observer maintains full editorial control of the work. To support the future of this reporting, subscribe or donate.