NC weighs ‘further action’ as state tops 6,000 new daily COVID-19 cases, a new record
North Carolina reached another grim milestone Saturday as, for the first time, more than 6,000 new coronavirus cases were confirmed in a single day by state health officials.
The Department of Health and Human Services reported 6,018 new cases with its Saturday update, marking a new single-day high in the metric. The state also reached a new high in the number of people hospitalized by COVID-19 at 2,171.
It’s the second time in three days the state has established a record for new cases in a single day. The state first topped the 5,000 case mark on Thursday when 5,637 new cases were reported. Friday’s total was 5,303.
“In less than a week, we went from exceeding 5,000 new cases reported in one day to exceeding 6,000,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, said in a statement released Saturday. “This is very worrisome.”
“We are looking at what further actions we can take as a state to protect North Carolinians and save lives,” she said.
Positive COVID-19 test rate double the target
The state’s seven-day rolling average of daily new cases has now swelled to 4,371. That metric topped 4,000 for the first time on Friday.
The state reported 49 new deaths attributed to COVID-19 on Saturday, increasing the total for the pandemic to 5,516.
During a news conference on Thursday, Cohen said the latest counts reflect COVID-19 spread from Thanksgiving.
DHHS reports 10.7 of the state’s tests have come back positive as of Thursday, the latest day for which data are available. So that’s more than double the 5% target set by health officials.
“We are seeing our highest rates of tests that come back positive despite the fact we are doing a lot of testing,” Cohen said in her Saturday statement. “This indicates we have even more viral spread across our state right now. We have record numbers of hospitalizations and people in the ICU.”
North Carolina first topped the 2,000 mark in hospitalizations on Dec. 1 and has now been above that number for five consecutive days, including Saturday’s record 2,171.
The state reported 1,094 people in intensive care with 1,055 patients on ventilators.
“I am asking each North Carolinian to take personal responsibility for their actions and slowing the spread of this virus,” Cohen said. “Always wear a mask when with people you don’t live with, keep your distance from other people and wash your hands often.”
In less than a month, the state has gone from never reaching 3,000 new daily cases to topping the 6,000-case mark. The state topped 3,000 new daily cases for the first time on Nov. 11 with 3,119 cases. It first reached 4,000 new daily cases on Nov. 19 with 4,296.
This story was originally published December 5, 2020 at 11:56 AM.