Testing drop shows fewer newly reported NC COVID-19 cases, as some gatherings resume
North Carolina’s rise in recorded COVID-19 cases continued Sunday, albeit with fewer new tests and cases than on a record-breaking Saturday.
The daily update from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday reported 497 new lab-confirmed cases, bringing the total to 23,222 since the coronavirus arrived in the state in early March.
State health officials attribute 744 deaths to COVID-19, up seven from Saturday.
The data comes two days after Gov. Roy Cooper’s new executive order, called Safer at Home, moved the state into Phase Two of his three-phase reopening plan. Around the state, people are gathering in ways they haven’t since March when Cooper implemented strict social restrictions by closing businesses, schools and other public areas.
On Saturday night, a crowd of more than 4,000 people gathered at the Ace Speedway, in rural northwest Alamance County, for a night of grassroots racing. It was believed to be the state’s first mass gathering for a sporting event since the pandemic shut down such gatherings two and a half months ago.
The speedway’s owners, the father-and-son tandem of Robert and Jason Turner, fought Cooper’s order limiting outdoor mass gatherings to 25 people. That mandate was part of Cooper’s executive order calling for Phase Two of a plan to gradually reopen the state.
Jason Turner said on Saturday that he and his father worked with Alamance County officials and received permission from the county to allow fans into the speedway.
Spectators began lining up hours before the first race. By the time it began, they sat shoulder to shoulder in a packed grandstand. Only a small percentage wore any kind of facial covering.
“I’m very thankful that we have people in Alamance County that are willing to stand up for our constitutional rights (to) peacefully assemble, to gather together and just be amongst ourselves as normal,” Jason Turner said. “There’s nobody here rioting. We’re not speaking against any kind of thing. We’re here just to have some fun and be Americans. And that’s what we needed.”
Starting late Friday, Cooper allowed restaurants to offer on-site dining for the first time since March with capacity restrictions, and let a number of other businesses reopen as well. The current rules are set to be in effect until June 26.
More cases and tests
The state reported 1,107 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the largest single-day increase North Carolina has seen since the pandemic began. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the DHHS secretary, called that data a “notable and concerning increase.”
As the state has ramped up testing, the number of cases has grown by 25.4% over the last seven days. The state reported 18,512 cases on May 17. Since then, the daily total has topped 500 five times. Sunday’s increase of 497 cases is the second-smallest, single-day total of the last seven days.
But the number of completed tests leading to that number of cases also dropped significantly on Sunday. DHHS data showed 7,074 completed tests from Saturday to Sunday. One day earlier the state showed a single-day high of 26,378 tests that led to the record number of positive results.
DHHS said 9% of the most recent day’s tests were positive, down a bit from a jump the day before. Of all tests completed to date, 6.9% have been positive, a rate that has been gradually declining, according to a News & Observer analysis.
The state reported 587 people hospitalized by the virus on Sunday, a decrease of two from Saturday’s update.
The News & Observer is keeping track of coronavirus cases and deaths, but the tally will exceed what the state has reported. While the state reports data at 11 a.m., The N&O continues to track new cases announced by county health departments through the day. On Sunday, that number was 23,364 cases, with 784 deaths.
This story was originally published May 24, 2020 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Testing drop shows fewer newly reported NC COVID-19 cases, as some gatherings resume."