North Carolina, Triangle coronavirus cases continued to climb Sunday
The number of new coronavirus cases in North Carolina continued to climb Sunday at near-record numbers while hospitalizations fell slightly.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,443 new COVID-19 cases across the state Sunday, bringing the total to 44,119. The agency reported 1,109 people have died, up five from a day earlier.
Sunday marks the second-highest increase in new cases. The highest was 1,768, the number of new cases announced Friday.
The number of those in the state hospitalized for COVID-19 dropped 25 Sunday to 798 after reaching a record high of 823 on Saturday. The last seven days have marked five record highs for hospitalization numbers.
It is typical for the hospitalization numbers to fall on Sunday, along with the percentage of hospitals reporting. Reporting hospitals fell 8 percentage points Sunday to 76%.
The number of completed COVID-19 tests increased by 15,440 Sunday to 627,130.
The percentage of positive cases from daily testing remained at 9% Saturday, the latest date available.
The News & Observer is keeping a separate count of cases and deaths based on totals from the state and county health departments. Those numbers, which tend to be higher because the state updates its numbers once a day, showed 44,263 cases and 1,132 deaths early Sunday afternoon.
State public health officials track coronavirus spread through metrics that include hospitalizations, the number of new cases, and the percentage of people who tested positive.
Hospitalizations across the state continue to increase. In the week that ended June 7, the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 symptoms ranged between 650 and 717.
North Carolina’s positive test rate remains among the highest in the country, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, on Friday.
Cohen wants it to drop closer to 5%.
Outbreak at Fuquay-Varina long-term care facility
Wake County announced Sunday that an outbreak of COVID-19 has been confirmed at Windsor Point, a long-term care facility in Fuquay-Varina.
The state defines an outbreak as two or more cases, but the county reported that “several” residents had tested positive for the virus.
The county offered no additional information on number of cases or about the people who tested positive. County EMS Director Dr. Jose Cabana said the county was working with the facility to respond to the outbreak.
Wake County previously reported outbreaks at four nursing homes, four residential care facilities and two correctional facilities.
The Triangle and Charlotte
The numbers of new cases also continued to climb in the Triangle and in the Charlotte area.
As of Sunday afternoon:
▪ In Mecklenburg County, cases increased by 269 to 7,131. The county has 121 deaths, an increase of two since Saturday.
▪ Wake County cases increased by 119 to 3,011. Forty-one people have died in Wake.
▪ Durham County cases increased by 93 to 2,662. Fifty-six people have died, an increase of one since Saturday.
▪ Orange County’s cases increased by 21 to 474. Forty have died in Orange.
This story was originally published June 14, 2020 at 12:45 PM with the headline "North Carolina, Triangle coronavirus cases continued to climb Sunday."
