NC sees highest number of reported COVID deaths in a day since the pandemic began
North Carolina reported 169 COVID-19 deaths on Wednesday, the highest single day total since the pandemic began.
The previous high of reported deaths in a day was on Dec. 30, when the state reported 155.
January was the deadliest month of the pandemic as DHHS reported 2,587 deaths across the state.
As of Wednesday, 9,578 North Carolinians have died due to the virus.
The deaths reported each day do not necessarily occur on the date reported, but are typically reported within hours up to a few days, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services. Reported dates of death can change upon further investigation.
DHHS reported 12,079 new cases on Wednesday, but a majority of these are delayed reports from December and January caused by an error in case reporting from FastMed Urgent clinics across the state, according to a news release from DHHS.
When accounting for the delay from FastMed, 4,167 new cases were reported from the past day, an increase of over 1,200 from Tuesday’s new case count. From the delay in FastMed reporting, 7,912 were reported from December and January.
It’s the fourth straight day since that the daily new case count has been under 5,000. The last time it was over 7,000 was Jan. 23.
Statewide hospitalizations dropped by 35 to 2,706 with 97% of hospitals reporting, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s the eighth straight day that hospitalizations have decreased.
Among the tests reported on Monday, 14% returned positive, the highest rate since Jan. 10.
State health officials have said that they want this rate at 5% or lower. The last time that North Carolina met this standard was Sept. 24.
In the seven days prior to Monday, the state reported an average rate of positive cases per day at 9.7%.
Case and hospitalization data reported by DHHS are preliminary and subject to change upon further investigation.
ICU and hospital capacity
DHHS reported 416 available intensive care unit beds on Wednesday, 44 fewer than Tuesday.
Prior to Tuesday, DHHS had reported an increase in available ICU beds for five straight days.
Of the 2,035 ICU beds in use, 635 are adult COVID-19 patients, a decrease of 10 from Tuesday’s total.
Overall, the number of adult ICU patients statewide has decreased steadily from the 880 reported on Jan. 16.
Available inpatient beds across the state are now at 5,116, down 526 from Tuesday.
The inpatient beds in use are not all being used by COVID-19 patients, and the fluctuation in available beds does not indicate a surge in patients, according to DHHS.
As of Wednesday, 83% of ICU beds and 76% of inpatient beds are in use statewide.
Vaccinations
As of Tuesday, 841,286 first doses of the vaccine and 188,699 second doses have been administered in North Carolina.
The COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses, given weeks apart, in order to be effective.
All of the first doses that have arrived from the federal government in North Carolina have been administered. Overall, including second doses, 81% of doses have been administered.
Vaccines at long-term care facilities are administered by a partnership of the federal government, Walgreens and CVS. Through that partnership, another 112,918 doses have been administered in North Carolina, as of Tuesday.
Of all the doses that have arrived in North Carolina for long-term care facilities, 58% of first doses have been administered. When second doses are included, 34% have been administered.
Combining doses administered through the federal long-term facility program and through the state, 1,142,903 doses have been administered in North Carolina.
DHHS has created an online portal at findmygroup.nc.gov for people trying to find out what vaccination group they are in.
DHHS has also opened a vaccine help line at 888-675-4567 that will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
The help line provides callers with general information about the COVID-19 vaccine including information on eligibility, clinical questions about the vaccine, and how to find vaccine locations.
People can also enter their address or ZIP code at myspot.nc.gov/map-view to find their nearest vaccine location.
General information on the vaccine, specifically as it relates to North Carolina, can be found at covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines.
This week, the state began updating its vaccination numbers every weekday, according to DHHS.
This story was originally published February 3, 2021 at 1:07 PM.