NC tops 7,000 COVID deaths as pandemic worsens across the state
Over 7,000 people have died in North Carolina due to COVID-19 since the first coronavirus case in the state was reported nearly 10 months ago.
Over about the last six weeks, 2,000 people have died from the virus. North Carolina surpassed 5,000 deaths on Nov. 21. The state reported a cumulative total of 7,076 deaths on Wednesday, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
DHHS reported 6,952 new cases on Wednesday. There have been a total 582,348 confirmed cases in North Carolina since the beginning of the pandemic.
Among the tests reported by DHHS on Monday, 17.8% returned positive, a record for the state and far above the 5% goal that state health officials want.
The seven-day average for positive tests sits at 15.4%.
As of Wednesday there are now 3,893 people with COVID-19 in hospitals across the state. It’s the highest of the pandemic for the seventh straight day and an increase of over 100 since Tuesday.
Case and hospitalization data reported is preliminary and subject to change upon further investigation.
Available hospital beds are at 4,379, a decrease from 4,909 on Tuesday. There were 5,406 available beds on Monday.
Available beds in intensive care units across state decreased to 328, down from 366 on Tuesday and 410 on Monday.
Update to county alert system
DHHS updated the state county alert system on Wednesday. The system is used to track the severity of COVID spread on the county level.
The state uses a color-coded system to gauge spread in each county, with yellow being significant spread, orange being substantial and red being critical. Yellow is the least severe and red is the most severe.
Eighty-four out of the 100 counties in North Carolina are red. Twelve and four counties are orange and yellow, respectively.
DHHS updates the alert system every two weeks. The last update on Dec. 22 had 65 counties in the red tier, The N&O reported.
In the Triangle area, Orange County is yellow, Wake and Durham counties are orange, and Johnston County is red.
This story was originally published January 6, 2021 at 12:02 PM.