More than 1,000 people with COVID-19 are in NC hospitals Tuesday as death toll rises

New COVID-19 cases ticked up in North Carolina to 1,734 on Tuesday, reversing three days of declines.

With the new lab-confirmed cases, North Carolina has recorded 234,481 coronavirus infections since the pandemic began.

The state Department of Health and Human Services reported 43 additional deaths related to COVID-19, bringing the total to 3,816 since the first two in March.

DHHS said Monday that 206,471 people are presumed recovered from COVID-19 symptoms. The estimate is based on when people tested positive and whether or not they were hospitalized.

Hospitals reported treating 1,103 people with COVID-19 as inpatients on Monday — six fewer than on Sunday — with 96% of hospitals reporting. More than 1,000 people with COVID-19 have been in hospitals every day since Oct. 6. Hospitalizations had not reached that level since August.

DHHS says that all the information on its data dashboard, including its hospitalization data, is preliminary and subject to revision.

The positivity rate, or how many tests on a particular day showed a positive result, continued to move farther from the 5% threshold health officials want. On Sunday, 7.1% of tests were positive, up from 5.6% on Saturday.

These are among the metrics Gov. Roy Cooper considers as he decides how to loosen restrictions on business and leisure activities in the pandemic. Cooper allowed movie theaters, outdoor amusement parks, bars, and other businesses to open with restriction on Friday, Oct. 2, as part of Phase 3 of his reopening plan.

Free testing for COVID-19 in the Triangle

To register for the events below, go to tinyurl.com/y4axm76v

Anyone interested in getting tested should contact the test site before they go to confirm testing criteria,

Wake County

• Malabys CrossRoads Baptist Church, 911 Old Knight Road, Knightdale, Oct. 14, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• St. Augustine’s University, 1315 Oakwood Ave, Raleigh, Oct. 14, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Dorcas Ministries, 173 High House Road, Cary, Oct. 15, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Advance Community Health, 1011 Rock Quarry Road, Raleigh, Oct. 15, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• Apex Advanced Health Care, 212 S Salem St., Apex, Oct. 16, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 300 Jones St., Zebulon, Oct. 16, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Dorcas Ministries, 173 High House Rd, Cary, Oct. 20, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Southern Regional Center, 130 N. Judd Parkway NE, Fuquay-Varina, Oct. 20, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Malabys CrossRoads Baptist Church, 911 Old Knight Road, Knightdale, Oct. 21, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Apex Advanced Health Care, 212 S Salem St., Apex, Oct. 22, 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.

• Dorcas Ministries, 173 High House Road, Cary, Oct. 22, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• Advance Community Health, 1011 Rock Quarry Road, Raleigh, Oct. 22, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 300 Jones St., Zebulon, Oct. 23, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

• New Providence Baptist Church, 4813 Hilltop-Needmore Road, Fuquay-Varina, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• Joy of Discovery Lutheran Church, 1950 New Bern Ave., Raleigh, Oct. 26, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Durham County

• St. Mark African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, 531 S Roxboro S.t, Durham, Oct. 17, 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

• Kitt Creek Commons Shopping Center, 5129 NC-55 Suite 103, Durham, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• Kitt Creek Commons Shopping Center, 5129 NC-55 Suite 103, Durham, Oct. 18, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• Kitt Creek Commons Shopping Center, 5129 NC-55 Suite 103, Durham, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

• Orange Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 505 East End Ave., Durham, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

• Kitt Creek Commons Shopping Center, 5129 NC-55 Suite 103, Durham, Oct. 25, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Orange County

• Sheps Center for Health Services Research, R7 Parking Lot, 725 M.L.K. Jr Blvd, Chapel Hill, Oct. 14, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

• Lattisville Grove Missionary Baptist Church, 1701 Jimmy Ed Rd E, Hurdle Mills, Oct. 17, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

• Sheps Center for Health Services Research, R7 Parking Lot, 725 M.L.K. Jr Blvd., Chapel Hill, Oct. 21, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

• St. Thomas More Church, 940 Carmichael St, Chapel Hill, Oct. 24, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 12:21 PM.