Wake saw rise in COVID-19 cases last week. Durham and Orange numbers held steady.
Wake County recorded more than 100 more COVID-19 cases last week than in the week before, according to data released by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The jump from 519 cases between Sept. 20 and Sept. 26 to 651 cases between Sept. 27 and Oct. 3 comes just as North Carolina begins to move into Phase 3 of its reopening.
By comparison, Durham County went from 220 confirmed positives to 227, while Orange County went from 76 to 83 new cases.
As part of moving into Phase 3, Gov. Roy Cooper loosened some restrictions, including allowing 7% occupancy in any venue with more than 10,000 seats. The revamped rules also allow movie theaters, conference centers and smaller outdoor arenas to open at the lesser of 30% capacity or 100 guests.
North Carolina also moved last week to allow visitors into nursing homes that have not had a coronavirus outbreak in the past two weeks. Restrictions are not being loosened in counties where the percentage of positive tests is above 10%.
There are nine ongoing outbreaks at Durham nursing homes, according to data released Friday by DHHS, while there are two more at residential care facilities. The largest ongoing outbreak in Durham is at Carver Living Center, where there have been 123 cases and 10 patients have died.
In Wake County, five nursing homes have ongoing outbreaks, with six more at residential care facilities. The largest is at The Laurels of Forest Glenns, where 115 people have tested positive for COVID-19, and 21 patients have died.
Orange County has three outbreaks at nursing homes and one at a residential care facility.
There is one cluster at a Triangle child care facility, with 10 cases at Wake County’s Kreepers and Krawlers Daycare, six of which are among children.
Coronavirus dates in Wake, Durham and Orange
Here is a look at COVID-19 data in Wake, Durham and Orange counties, as of Oct. 4.
▪ Percentage of positive tests. All three Triangle counties were under 5% positive tests as of Friday, according to DHHS data. Wake County’s average was 3.5%, although there were some increases late in the week. Durham County’s two-week average is 4%, with the daily number typically hovering between 2% and 5%. Orange County has averaged 2.4%, although the lower percent positives were typically more than a week ago.
▪ Hospitalizations. There were 907 hospitalized with COVID-19 on Saturday, according to the state, with 91% of hospitals reporting data. The number of people hospitalized has declined very gradually since Sept. 29, but hovered between 900 and 950 for the last nine days.
▪ Demographics. Hispanic people are overrepresented among cases in all three Triangle counties. In Durham and Wake counties, Hispanic people are less than 15% of the population but account for 57% and 37% of COVID-19 cases, respectively. In Orange County, Hispanic people are less than 10% of the population but 31% of the coronavirus cases, a percentage that has gradually declined over the past two months.
In all three Triangle counties, Black people continue to account for a disproportionately high percentage of COVID-19 deaths. In Durham County, 47% of deaths are among Black people, who account for about 36% of the population. In Orange and Wake counties, those numbers are about 12% and 21% of the population, respectively, and 39% and 37% of deaths.