NC reports 4,000+ cases for second day, COVID hospitalizations quadruple since July 9

North Carolina reported over 4,000 new COVID-19 cases for the second day in a row on Friday, according to the North Carolina DHHS COVID-19 dashboard.

The state reported 4,506 new cases Friday, 175 more than the 4,331 new cases reported Thursday. Over 4,500 cases haven’t been reported in a day since Feb. 11.

There are 1,715 people currently hospitalized for COVID-19 in the state, up 64 from Thursday’s 1,651. Hospitalizations have more than quadrupled since July 9, when 409 people were hospitalized; the number of people hospitalized has increased every day since July 9. Friday marks the most hospitalizations the state has had since Feb. 19, when 1,780 people were hospitalized.

There were 12 deaths reported Friday. So far, 13,736 people have died from COVID-19 in North Carolina. As of Thursday, the seven day average deaths was 15, which last happened in mid-June. Deaths are not necessarily reported on the day they occur.

Fifty-five percent of North Carolinians 12 years or older are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and 59% of this age group has received at least one dose. These numbers have remained the same since Tuesday. They are lower than the national averages; 58.4% of Americans 12 years or older are fully vaccinated, and 68.1% have received at least one dose.

North Carolina has so far administered 57,330 vaccine doses this week, but the NCDHHS website states that this data could be incomplete. The state administered 110,184 doses last week — these numbers can change as NCDHHS updates previously missing data. The number of vaccines administered in a week has been increasing since the week of July 5.

NCDHHS recently told The News & Observer that more than 94% of cases and deaths reported since May 6 were in people who were not fully vaccinated. People who are vaccinated and contract COVID-19 typically avoid serious illness or hospitalization, the spokesperson wrote.

Additionally, during May and June, more than 99% of cases and more than 98% of hospitalizations and deaths were in people who were not fully vaccinated.

NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen noted in a July 29 press conference that the current rise in cases in North Carolina is “faster than what we have seen with past increases.”

“This is because the COVID virus is now much, much more contagious than it was earlier,” she explained.

According to Cohen, the ancestral strain of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, spread from one person to an average of two or three people. The more contagious delta variant can spread from one person to an average of six people — “and nearly all of that spread is happening amongst people who are not vaccinated,” she said.

This story was originally published August 6, 2021 at 12:33 PM with the headline "NC reports 4,000+ cases for second day, COVID hospitalizations quadruple since July 9."