2 Triangle counties see highest COVID case counts in 7 months, as delta spreads in NC

Over the past month, Wake County has seen its number of new COVID-19 cases more than double, rising to more than 8,000 new cases in two weeks.

In early August, that figure was just over 4,000, The News & Observer reported.

New cases in Durham, which saw nearly 700 new cases over two weeks in early August, have also more than doubled to nearly 1,700 over the most recent 14-day period.

The dramatic increases come as cases across North Carolina continue to rise. The more contagious delta variant has spread throughout the state, with intensive care unit patients surging to a record high and some hospitals struggling to keep up.

And in a new report released Friday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said unvaccinated people are more than 15 times more likely to die from the virus.

While the percentage of tests returning positive was down this week in Wake, Durham and Orange counties, the number of new cases rose in all three, according to DHHS data.

Here’s a look at the latest local data across the three counties.

Wake sees rising COVID outbreaks, clusters

In Wake County, there have been 8,301 new cases over the past two weeks, or about 747 new cases per 100,000 residents. Of those, 4,242 cases were added in the past week.

That’s the highest number of new cases in Wake in a single week since late January, when the county added 9,710 new cases.

As of Wednesday, 8.4% of tests were returning positive. The state has said that figure needs to be 5% or lower to curb the spread of the virus.

There have been a total of 771 deaths from the virus in the county. That’s 11 new deaths reported since last week, though deaths do not necessarily occur on the days they are reported.

The county has at least partially vaccinated 65% of its residents, while 61% are fully vaccinated. Those figures jump to 78% and 74% for Wake’s adult population.

As of Thursday, Wake was experiencing 22 outbreaks and 16 clusters of the virus.

DHHS defines an outbreak as two or more confirmed cases among staff or residents of a congregate living facility, while a cluster is five or more confirmed cases in a child care or school setting that can be plausibly linked together.

Twelve outbreaks were occurring in nursing homes, while eight were in residential care facilities and two were in correctional facilities.

Five clusters were occurring in child care facilities, while 11 were in K-12 schools.

New cases in Durham

In Durham County, there have been 1,692 new cases over the past two weeks, or about 526 new cases per 100,000 residents. Of those, 864 new cases were added in the past week.

Like Wake, that’s the highest number of new cases in Durham since late January, when the county added 1,875 new cases.

As of Wednesday, 7.2% of tests were returning positive.

There have been a total of 243 deaths from the virus in the county. That’s one new death reported since last week.

The county has at least partially vaccinated 63% of its residents, while 59% are fully vaccinated. Those figures jump to 75% and 71% for Durham’s adult population.

As of Thursday, Durham was experiencing seven outbreaks and four clusters of the virus.

Three outbreaks were occurring in nursing homes, two were in residential care facilities, one was in a correctional facility and one was in a housing facility.

One cluster was occurring in a child care facility, while three were in K-12 schools.

No new deaths, clusters in Orange

In Orange County, there have been 486 new cases over the past two weeks, or about 327 new cases per 100,000 residents. Of those, 271 were added in the past week.

That’s the highest weekly new case count since early February, when the county saw 329 new cases.

As of Wednesday, 3.4% of tests were returning positive.

There have been a total of 102 deaths from the virus in the county. No new deaths were reported in the past week.

The county has at least partially vaccinated 80% of its residents, while 77% are fully vaccinated. Those figures jump to 93% and 89% for Orange’s adult population.

As of Thursday, Orange was experiencing three outbreaks and zero clusters of the virus.

Two outbreaks were occurring in nursing homes, while one was in a residential care facility.

This story was originally published August 29, 2021 at 12:09 PM.