North Carolina reports 12th straight day of fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations

North Carolina reported fewer than 2,500 COVID-19 related hospitalizations Saturday, marking the 12th straight day of hospitalizations trending downward.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported a total of 2,468 hospitalizations — that’s less than the 2,523 Friday, and significantly lower than the pandemic high of 3,990 last month. Saturday’s data is based on reports from 95% of hospitals across NC.

The state also reported 4,172 new cases Saturday, a sharp decline after three days of over 5,000 new cases. In total, DHHS has reported 791,521 cases of the coronavirus across the state.

As of Thursday, the state reported 7.8% of all tests were returning positive — that’s still higher than the 5% state officials have said is needed to curb the spread of the virus.

DHHS reports 591 intensive care units are in use by adult COVID-19 patients across the state. In total, 1,994 ICUs are in use, while at least 438 are available.

For inpatient hospital beds, 15,921 are in use, while at least 4,848 are available.

Over 1 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in North Carolina, according to DHHS. As of Thursday, 905,425 first doses of the vaccine had been administered. The state reported 232,815 second doses have also been administered.

The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines both require two doses to reach full effectiveness.

Since the pandemic began in March, 9,926 people in NC have died from the virus, according to DHHS data Saturday. The day’s data also shows the two deadliest days of the pandemic were Jan. 15 and Jan. 4, with 101 people dying from COVID-19 on each day.

This story was originally published February 6, 2021 at 11:55 AM with the headline "North Carolina reports 12th straight day of fewer COVID-19 hospitalizations."