NC reports record number of new COVID-19 cases as testing surges
North Carolina reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, just days before Thanksgiving.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 4,514 new cases, breaking Thursday’s record of 4,296 cases. Four of North Carolina’s five highest daily case totals have come since Wednesday.
That pushed North Carolina’s seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases to 3,506, also a new high. Averages are often used when evaluating COVID-19 because they can better account for single-day highs and lows.
Sunday’s cases were reported alongside a surge in testing, with DHHS reporting 69,172 new tests on Sunday. Health officials have urged people to reconsider traveling for Thanksgiving, but advised those who feel they must to seek out testing beforehand.
Over the last 32 days, North Carolina’s turnaround time for molecular COVID-19 tests is averaging 2.5 days. Molecular tests are the more-common method of being tested, with a swab being sent to a lab where it is then tested for the virus.
The 7-day average for North Carolina’s test positivity rate has remained above 8% since Nov. 15. On Friday, the last day for which data is available, the state reported a daily positivity rate of 7.1%, which brought the 7-day rate to 8.2%.
North Carolina reported its 5,000th death from COVID-19 on Saturday, a grim marker that it continued to surge past Sunday with 29 more deaths.
There are 1,571 patients in hospitals statewide with COVID-19, with 97% of hospitals reporting data. That’s the second-highest number of hospitalizations since the COVID-19 pandemic began, down slightly from Saturday’s reported 1,590 patients.
This story was originally published November 22, 2020 at 12:23 PM.