COVID hospitalizations in NC fall below 900 for first time since September
North Carolina reported 873 hospitalizations due to COVID-19 statewide Monday, the first time since Sept. 25 that hospitalizations are below 900.
It’s also a decrease from the 935 that the state Department of Health and Human Services reported Friday.
DHHS now only reports updates to the state’s COVID-19 metrics Monday through Friday, so changes over the weekend are now not reported until Monday.
Overall, hospitalizations have decreased over the last several weeks from the pandemic high of 3,990 reported in mid-January.
Over the weekend, DHHS reported 5,305 new cases. Over the last week, the state health department has reported about 1,800 new cases per day.
That average has remained under 2,000 since early March but has increased from 1,600 reported on March 15.
Among the test results reported Saturday, the latest day with available data, 5.7% came back positive.
Over the last week of available data, DHHS has reported an average of 5% positive tests per day.
State health officials have said that the rate needs to be 5% or below to control the spread of the virus.
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 Monday, with changes since Friday*:
- Total cases: 910,833 (+5,305)
- Deaths: 12,085 (+57)
- Tests: 11,282,753 (+102,407)
- People hospitalized: 873 (-62)
- COVID-19 adult ICU patients: 222 (-10)
- Available ICU beds: 651 (+103)
- Available inpatient beds: 6,007 (+998)
- Patients on ventilators: 828 (-39)
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 124 people died. The state originally reported that 108 people had died on Jan. 15.
*On March 26, DHHS began updating statewide COVID-19 metrics Monday through Friday only. Previously the state would update on Sunday and Saturday as well. Therefore, totals reported on Monday are changes since the previous Friday.
Vaccine statistics reported Monday:
- First doses arrived: 2,394,240
- First doses administered: 2,412,228 (101%)**
- Second doses arrived: 1,629,225
- Second doses administered: 1,473,197 (90%)
- Single-shot doses arrived: 106,700
- Single-shot doses administered: 94,731 (89%)
**The doses administered can exceed doses arrived because hospitals and other health care providers have learned that they can get an extra dose from each vial of Pfizer and Moderna vaccine.
Vaccine doses administered in North Carolina through the federal, long-term care program:
- First doses administered: 472,871
- Second doses administered: 175,489
- Single-shot doses administered: 26,376
- Total doses arrived: 847,620
- Total doses administered: 674,736 (74%)
Overall vaccine statistics:
- Total doses administered: 4,654,892
- Number of people fully vaccinated: 1,769,793
- Percent of population who have received at least one dose: 27.5%
- Percent of population fully vaccinated: 16.9%
- Percent of population 18 or older who have received at least one dose: 35.2%
- Percent of population 18 or older fully vaccinated: 21.6%
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: 2.5% (3.5%)
- Black or African American: 15.2% (23.1%)
- White: 73.1% (71.7%)
By ethnicity:
- Hispanic: 3% (9.8%)
- Non-Hispanic: 89.9% (90.2%)