NC DHHS reports 150 COVID-19 deaths, the second straight day of 150 deaths or more
North Carolina reported 150 COVID-19 deaths on Thursday, the second consecutive day that the state has reported 150 deaths or more.
On Wednesday, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported a pandemic daily high of 169 deaths.
The previous high of reported deaths in a day was on Dec. 30, when the state reported 155.
Over the last week, DHHS has reported an average of 97 deaths per day in its daily COVID-19 update.
January was the deadliest month of the pandemic as DHHS reported 2,587 deaths across the state.
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 DHHS. Reported dates of death can change as more information becomes available.
DHHS reported 5,495 new cases on Thursday, an increase of over 1,300 from Wednesday.
It’s the first time since Saturday that daily new case count has been over 5,000.
Statewide hospitalizations dropped by 76 to 2,630 with 95% of hospitals reporting, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
It’s the ninth straight day that hospitalizations have decreased.
Among the tests reported on Tuesday, 7.2% returned positive, the lowest rate since Nov. 25.
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 Tuesday, the state reported an average rate of positive cases per day at 9.6%.
Case and hospitalization data reported by DHHS are preliminary and subject to change upon further investigation.
ICU and hospital capacity
DHHS reported 395 available intensive care unit beds on Thursday, 21 fewer than Wednesday.
It’s the third straight day with a decrease in ICU capacity and the fewest available since Jan. 24.
Of the 2,056 ICU beds in use, 630 are adult COVID-19 patients, a decrease of five from Wednesday’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 4,891, down 225 from Wednesday.
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, 84% of ICU beds and 77% of inpatient beds are in use statewide.
Vaccinations
As of Wednesday, 868,521 first doses of the vaccine and 208,753 second doses have been administered in North Carolina.
The COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses, given weeks apart, in order to be effective.
Of the first doses that have arrived from the federal government in North Carolina, 92% have been administered. Overall, including second doses, 76% 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 118,095 doses have been administered in North Carolina, as of Wednesday.
Of all the doses that have arrived in North Carolina for long-term care facilities, 59% of first doses have been administered. When second doses are included, 36% have been administered.
Combining doses administered through the federal long-term facility program and through the state, 1,195,369 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.
Update to county alert system
DHHS updated the state’s county alert system on Thursday.
The state rates each North Carolina county in a color coded system that gauges the case rate, the percent of tests that are positive and the impact on local hospitals.
Starting with the worst virus spread, red is critical, orange is substantial and yellow is significant.
Using data collected from Jan. 17 to Jan. 30, DHHS rated 61 counties as red, 33 as orange and six as yellow.
On Jan. 21, when DHHS last updated the county alert system, there were 86 red counties, 13 orange and one yellow.
In the Triangle, Wake, Orange and Durham counties are orange. Johnston County is red.
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 3:04 PM.