NC COVID hospitalizations hit another new high as deaths top 6,300
North Carolina reported 3,043 hospitalizations Wednesday, another new high for the state, as new cases and deaths continue increasing heading into Christmas.
On Tuesday, the state topped 3,000 daily hospitalizations for the first time. The number of people in the hospital statewide has increased throughout December. On Dec. 1, there were 2,033 hospitalizations.
There were 5,609 new cases reported on Wednesday, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
That brings the seven-day average for daily new cases to 6,091, a new high for the state as well. It’s the sixth straight day that the state has been above the 6,000 mark.
Of all the tests reported Monday, the latest day for which data is available, 10.7% of cases came back positive, bringing the seven-day positivity average to 10.8%.
State health officials have said they want that number at or below 5%, a mark the state hasn’t met since Sept. 24.
As of Wednesday, 6,360 North Carolinians have died due to the virus, an increase of 69 since Tuesday.
The seven-day average for daily new deaths is now at 54. It’s been in the 50s for nearly a week, and a month ago it was 32.
Case and hospitalization data reported by DHHS is preliminary and subject to change upon further investigation.
Trump criticizes COVID stimulus bill
The U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate passed a $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus on Monday, the second such COVID-19 stimulus and first since since March.
But President Donald Trump called the bill a “disgrace” on Tuesday and demanded that stimulus checks be increased from the bill’s current $600 per person to $2,000 per person.
Trump also objected to some of spending in the budget attached to the stimulus. The House and Senate voted on the stimulus in tandem with funding for the federal government’s current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30 next year. The bill in its entirety is called The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021.
Trump called the spending in the budget portion wasteful and said that it should be reduced.
If Trump were to veto the bill, the House and Senate could overturn it if the current vote on the legislation holds.
Democratic Speaker of House Nancy Pelosi said on Twitter that the party is prepared to bring the $2,000 check proposal to a vote on the House floor this week.
Along with the stimulus checks, the legislation includes $25 billion in rental assistance of which North Carolina is estimated to receive nearly $700 million, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for more affordable housing.
There will also be an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits up until mid-March.
Thousands of North Carolinians currently owe the state money due to overpayment from benefits given earlier in the year, The N&O reported. This was due in part to confusion over eligibility from the federal unemployment benefits in the first round of stimulus.
The Payment Protection Program from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, or CARES Act, received $284 billion in new funding as well.
That program allows businesses to take out low-interest loans to help fund their operations.
North Carolina updates county COVID alert map
At Gov. Roy Cooper’s press conference on Tuesday he announced an update of the state’s county alert system.
Ninety-two counties in North Carolina now face critical or substantial community spread of COVID-19, according to DHHS.
DHHS color-codes each county: Red means critical spread, orange means substantial and yellow means significant. Only eight counties are yellow, the least severe tier.
Sixty-five counties are red, an increase of 48 from the last report on Dec. 8.
Wake and Durham counties are orange. Orange County is yellow, and Johnston County is red.
Cooper called the trend “alarming,” citing a daily record of 8,000 cases last week and more than 10% of tests turning up positive.
“This virus continues to spread quickly,” Cooper said Tuesday. “Don’t get numb to these numbers. They have plateaued a bit over the last few weeks, but they are too high.”