COVID-19 caseload in NC shows slowest growth in a month
North Carolina is adding fewer cases to its COVID-19 caseload than the state has seen in more than a month, a sign the omicron surge is waning.
The state Department of Health and Human Services reported 4,648 confirmed cases Tuesday, following 4,727 on Monday.
Those two gains in the pandemic’s ongoing total since Dec. 27, and the single-day increases have been nearly 10 times that high since omicron’s arrival.
In mid-January, the state reached its highest one-day jump with 44,833 new cases.
State health officials have predicted the virus’ latest variant would reach a peak by the end of February, and it has gone largely unmentioned in the state’s news since then.
But hospitalized patients remain high at 3,956 reported Tuesday, the lowest total in nearly a month and far below the 5,000-patient level often seen in January.
And while the rate of positive COVID-19 has fallen steadily in recent weeks, it remains at 23.4% — more than four times the state’s 5% goal.