The last week has seen more new COVID-19 cases in NC than any other
North Carolina continues to see very high COVID-19 numbers, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported Sunday.
There are 6,900 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state, DHHS reported, the third-highest single-day number since the pandemic began.
The 7-day rolling average of new cases reached a new high Sunday, with the last week averaging 6,082 cases each day. That barely topped a record set on Tuesday.
North Carolina reached 6,000 new cases in a day for the first time on Dec. 5. That mark has quickly become the new normal, with the state hitting it nine times since.
There were 2,748 people hospitalized in North Carolina with the virus on Sunday, with 94% of hospitals reporting data. That’s the fifth-highest day since the pandemic began, with all of the top five coming since Wednesday. There were 629 people in intensive care units with COVID-19 at reporting hospitals.
Testing data indicates the virus is continuing to spread rapidly across the state, with 10.6% of tests coming back positive on Friday, the last day for which data is available. Over the last week, an average of 11.3% of tests have come back positive.
DHHS also reported 40 people who died with COVID-19, bringing the total toll of the pandemic to 6,224. Deaths are reported as they are confirmed, so they are not from a single day.
During the last week, there have been 401 COVID-19 deaths reported in North Carolina, more than at any point during the pandemic.