COVID measures plateau but are still higher from a month ago
The rate of new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations stabilized this week after slowly rising since late March.
The state reported 2,167 new cases Friday, bringing the average new daily cases reported over the past seven days to 1,891.
DHHS reported 1,145 hospitalizations on Friday. That number has stayed around 1,100 the past few days.
Since late March new case averages and hospitalizations have increased by about 200 and 300 respectively.
The percentage of COVID-19 tests coming back positive this week has averaged 6.1% per day, down slightly from 6.5% last week.
State health officials, though, want that number to be 5% or less, which it hasn’t been since late March.
But the positivity rate is one metric the state examines when gauging COVID-19 spread across the state. Others include new cases and hospitalizations.
COVID-19 data of the day
Case and hospitalization data reported by DHHS are preliminary and subject to change upon further investigation. Here are additional statistics reported Friday with changes from the day before:
- Total cases: 956,932 (+2,167)
- Deaths: 12,523 (+18)
- Tests: 12,107,804 (+44,232)
- People hospitalized due to the virus: 1,145 (-20)
- COVID-19 adult ICU patients: 279 (-4)
- Available ICU beds: 481 (+3)
- Available inpatient beds: 4,911 (+91)
- Patients on ventilators: 914 (+26)
Inpatient and ICU beds are not all used by COVID-19 patients, according to DHHS.
Deaths do not all occur on the date they are reported. DHHS updates its numbers as information becomes available. For example, according to the latest DHHS data, the deadliest day of the pandemic was Jan. 15 when 127 people died. The state originally reported that 108 people had died on Jan. 15.
Vaccine doses administered through North Carolina health providers:
- First doses arrived: 3,365,680
- First doses administered: 2,997,407 (89%)
- Second doses arrived: 2,600,745
- Second doses administered: 2,360,962 (91%)
- Single-shot doses arrived: 333,000
- Single-shot doses administered: 200,866 (60%)
Vaccine doses administered in North Carolina through the federal, long-term care program:
- First doses administered: 706,972
- Second doses administered: 456,927
- Single-shot doses administered: 52,472
- Total doses arrived: 1,914,130
- Total doses administered: 1,216,371 (64%)
Overall vaccine statistics reported Friday:
- Total doses administered: 6,775,606
- Number of people fully vaccinated: 3,071,227
- Percent of population who have received at least one dose: 37.7%
- Percent of population fully vaccinated: 29.3%
- Percent of population 18 or older who have received at least one dose: 47.7%
- Percent of population 18 or older fully vaccinated: 37.3%
- Percent of population 65 or older who have received at least one dose: 77.1%
Percent of population 65 or older fully vaccinated: 71.7%
Breakdown of those fully vaccinated by race vs. percentage of total population:
- American Indian or Alaskan Native: 0.7% (1.7%)
- Asian or Pacific Islander: 3.5% (3.5%)
- Black or African American: 16% (23.1%)
- White: 71.2% (71.7%)
- Other: 5.5%
- Missing or undisclosed: 3.1%
By ethnicity:
- Hispanic: 5.1% (9.8%)
- Non-Hispanic: 87.2% (90.2%)
- Missing or undisclosed: 7.8%