Reported NC coronavirus cases hit 4-week high on day Cooper to announce looser restrictions
North Carolina health officials reported 2,111 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state Tuesday, the highest number of recorded new cases since July 30.
Officially, the state’s COVID-19 case total is 169,424, a tally that is likely an undercount because tests were rationed early in the pandemic, which was first reported in the state in early March.
The state Department of Health and Human Services reported Monday that 145,884 COVID-19 patients are presumed to have recovered. The estimate is based on when tests were performed and whether or not people were hospitalized.
Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday announced that gyms, museums, playgrounds could reopen Fridayat 5 p.m. at limited capacity. He had previously said Phase Two of restrictions would last until Sept. 11.
DHHS corrected an error that showed 1,163 too many reported cases on Saturday. Instead of 2,585 cases, which would have represented a new high, 1,699 new cases should have been reported Saturday, according to an explanation on the DHHS data dashboard.
DHHS said on its website that extra tests represented 886 unique cases because some people were tested more than once. The diagnostic company LabCorp told The News & Observer in email Monday that the extra cases counted Saturday were for tests performed on three dates earlier in August.
On Tuesday afternoon, DHHS distributed a spreadsheet that showed new daily case counts were off by one to 229 cases every day from Aug. 7 to Aug. 28. Four days in August had triple-digit undercounts.
Reported coronavirus hospitalizations trending down
The state reported 39 additional COVID-19 deaths Tuesday, bringing the total to 2,741.
People 65 and older represent 13% of reported COVID-19 cases, but 80% of the deaths, according to DHHS.
Hospitalizations have been trending down slightly, down from days in early July to mid-August when hospitals routinely reported more than 1,000 people hospitalized with COVID-19. DHHS reported 946 people in the hospital with COVID-19 on Monday, with 92% of hospitals reporting. That’s up from 915 COVID-19 patients reported in hospitals on Sunday, based on 84% that sent in their information.
DHHS says its COVID-19 data, including hospitalizations, is preliminary and subject to revision.
The state DHHS last reported the percentage of positive tests on Aug. 30, when it was 6.7%.
Health officials encourage people who have COVID-19 symptoms, are at high risk of severe COVID-19 symptoms, who live or work in places where the risk of exposure is high, or are from marginalized communities and to get coronavirus tests.
Wake County is holding no-cost, drive-thru testing this week from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. the McKimmon Conference and Training Center on Gorman Street. Registration is required. Testing is also available at the Sunnybrook Building parking deck on Holston Lane on certain days this week and next week.
This story was originally published September 1, 2020 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Reported NC coronavirus cases hit 4-week high on day Cooper to announce looser restrictions."