COVID outbreaks dwindle in the Triangle, but case numbers rise in two counties
For the second week in a row, Triangle counties saw more added cases and higher average percentages of tests returning positive — signaling a continued reversal of more than a month of improvement.
But the area is seeing steady improvement in conditions at congregate living facilities, where many people have been vaccinated and the number of outbreaks has continued to decline.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reports the state’s COVID-19 data Monday through Friday. As of the past week, the department no longer reports new data on Saturdays.
While Wake, Durham and Orange counties all saw their average percent of positive tests rise, only the latter two added more new cases this week than in the week prior. For Durham, it is the third straight week of rising new cases.
The week’s data comes as Gov. Roy Cooper and the state have moved to ease COVID-19 restrictions, allowing bars, restaurants and other businesses to operate at increased capacities, and relaxing limitations on indoor and outdoor gatherings.
Those restrictions eased as the state saw continued progress in its vaccination effort, with one in five adults in N.C. fully vaccinated as of the latest data.
Here’s how Wake, Durham and Orange counties are doing at the end of another week.
New cases, vaccinations in Wake
In Wake County, DHHS reported 1,489 new cases in the past seven days — down from the 1,530 added cases the week before. A total of 79,559 people in the county have contracted the virus since the pandemic began last year.
The county reported 91 new deaths from the virus, bringing its running total to 677. Deaths do not necessarily occur on the days they are reported, and on Thursday, DHHS said that 68 of the day’s added deaths had been identified by Wake County Public Health after a review of vital-records data. Those deaths occurred between June 1, 2020 and March 8, 2021.
As of Thursday, an average of 5% of tests over the past 14 days were returning positive in the county. That’s the figure health officials have said is needed to contain the spread of the virus, but it is higher than the 4.7% of tests returning positive in Wake the week before.
DHHS reported 263,476 people in the county were at least partially vaccinated as of Friday. Of those, 161,130 were fully vaccinated. Those are increases of 36,372 and 20,618 people, respectively.
The number of ongoing outbreaks in the county fell to 17 from 23 a week earlier and 36 two weeks ago. Of those, five were occurring in nursing homes, seven in residential care facilities and five in correctional facilities.
DHHS defines an outbreak as two or more residents or staff members testing positive in a congregate living facility.
The number of clusters in Wake remained constant at 27. Fifteen of those clusters were in child care centers, while 12 were in K-12 schools.
A cluster is defined as five or more cases of the virus that can be plausibly linked together.
Among Wake’s clusters were a child-care center and high school — each of which reported 20 or more COVID-19 cases this week, The News & Observer has reported.
Precious Lambs Early Learning Center reported 20 cases among students and nine among staff members, while Cardinal Gibbons High reported 19 cases among students and four among staff. Both are in Raleigh.
Also in the past week, the Wake County school system revised its COVID-19 protocols after criticism from parents, allowing students to talk during lunch and be closer than 6 feet from one another.
At Duke Raleigh Hospital, an outbreak traced to a fifth floor inpatient unit for surgical and cancer patients has led to at least 20 positive cases. Duke officials said Tuesday that the majority of those infected are hospital staff.
New cases, vaccinations in Durham
In Durham County, 473 new cases of the virus were reported in the past seven days — up slightly from the 449 added cases the week prior. The county has seen a total of 22,922 cases of the virus.
A single new death was added in the past week, bringing the county to 212 total deaths from the virus.
As of Thursday, an average of 5.3% of tests were returning positive in Durham. That’s up from 4.6% the week before.
In Durham, 86,927 people are at least partially vaccinated, the state said Friday. Of those, 58,275 are fully vaccinated. The county added 10,344 partial and 6,843 full vaccinations to those totals in the past week.
Outbreaks in the county fell from nine to six in the past week, with four in nursing homes, one in a residential care facility and one in an emergency housing program.
Clusters remained constant in Durham between weeks, with only one occurring at a child care.
And as the pandemic has forced teachers, parents and students to rethink education amid new restrictions, Durham Public Schools has announced it will open a permanent online public school, The N&O reported Friday.
Ignite Online Academy will begin offering summer classes this year, with a full launch planned for the fall. It expects to enroll about 500 students.
At Duke Health, twin 9-year-old girls became the first young children in the country to receive Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, as clinical studies begin to gauge the effectiveness and safety of the vaccine in children between the ages of 5 and 12.
New cases, vaccinations in Orange
In Orange County, DHHS reported 131 new cases in the past seven days — up from the 83 added the week before. Orange has seen a total of 8,006 cases since the pandemic began.
The county added one death to its total, bringing the figure to 100.
As of Thursday, an average of 0.8% of tests were returning positive. That’s slightly higher than the 0.7% of tests returning positive the week before.
On Friday, DHHS reported 47,432 people in Orange were at least partially vaccinated, while 32,034 of those were fully vaccinated. Those are increases of 6,145 and 2,371, respectively.
The number of ongoing outbreaks in the county remained constant at two. One is occurring in a nursing home, while the other is in a residential care facility.
Clusters in the county dropped by one this week. The only remaining cluster in Orange is occurring in a child care facility.
This story was originally published March 28, 2021 at 12:16 PM.