NC reports fewest daily COVID deaths in a week as hospitalizations continue to fall
North Carolina added eight deaths to the state’s COVID-19 death toll Monday, the fewest reported in the state’s daily update in a week.
Deaths do not all occur on the date they are reported. The state Department of Health and Human Services updates its numbers as information becomes available. According to the most recent DHHS data, the deadliest day of the pandemic was Jan. 4, when 104 people died.
Monday’s relatively low reported deaths come after DHHS added 169 deaths, 150 deaths and 113 deaths to the reported total on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively. Wednesday’s count was the most reported deaths that the state had added to its tally in single day since the pandemic began in March.
Over the last week, DHHS has added an average of 93 deaths per day to the state’s overall number of deaths.
As of Monday, 9,991 North Carolinians have died due to the virus.
Of those deaths, 2,458 have died due to the virus in 2021, according to DHHS. Seven deaths are missing dates of death, as of Monday.
Statewide hospitalizations dropped by 55 to 2,339 with 95% of hospitals reporting, according to DHHS.
It’s the 13th straight day that hospitalizations have decreased and the lowest count overall in North Carolina since Dec. 7.
DHHS reported 3,084 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, a decrease of over 1,500 from Sunday’s new case count.
Over the last few weeks, new case reports have steadily decreased as the state has administered nearly 1.4 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines since mid-December when they began. The last time that DHHS reported over 7,000 new cases in day was Jan. 23.
Among the tests reported on Saturday, the latest day with data available, 8.6% returned positive, an increase from the 7.4% reported from Friday.
The state has seen a gradual decrease in the percent positive rate over the last few weeks, though. On Jan. 4, the state reported a pandemic high of 17.1%.
State health officials have said that they want the rate at 5% or lower. The last time that North Carolina met this standard was Sept. 24.
Case and hospitalization data reported by DHHS are preliminary and subject to change upon further investigation.
Vaccinations
As of Monday, 970,162 first doses of the vaccine and 280,422 second doses have been administered in North Carolina by health providers.
The COVID-19 vaccine requires two doses, given roughly four weeks apart, in order to be fully effective.
Of the first doses that have arrived from the federal government in North Carolina, all have been administered. Overall, including second doses, 88% 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 140,363 doses have been administered in North Carolina, as of Monday.
Of all the doses that have arrived in North Carolina for long-term care facilities, 64% of first doses have been administered. When second doses are included, 42% have been administered.
Combining doses administered through the federal long-term facility program and through the state, 1,390,947 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 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.
ICU and hospital capacity
DHHS reported 482 available intensive care unit beds on Monday, up 27 from Sunday.
It’s the fourth straight day that DHHS has reported an increase of statewide ICU capacity.
Of the 1,961 ICU beds in use, 559 are adult COVID-19 patients, down 25 from Sunday’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 5,634, an increase of 174 from Sunday.
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 Monday, 80% of ICU beds and 73% of inpatient beds are in use statewide.
This story was originally published February 8, 2021 at 12:44 PM.