Cleveland County's COVID cases up 7%; North Carolina cases plummet 12.4%

Mike Stucka USA TODAY NETWORK
·3 min read
Dawn Powell (left) watches a convoy of police cars and motorcycles pull into the Windsor Police in Colorado on Aug. 15 as part of the Ride to Remember. The ride stopped in Windsor to honor fallen police officer Ty Powell, Dawn's husband, who died from COVID-19 on Oct. 13, 2021.
Dawn Powell (left) watches a convoy of police cars and motorcycles pull into the Windsor Police in Colorado on Aug. 15 as part of the Ride to Remember. The ride stopped in Windsor to honor fallen police officer Ty Powell, Dawn's husband, who died from COVID-19 on Oct. 13, 2021.

North Carolina reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 23,959 new cases. That's down 12.4% from the previous week's tally of 27,339 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

North Carolina ranked ninth among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 10.8% from the week before, with 654,873 cases reported. With 3.15% of the country's population, North Carolina had 3.66% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 16 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Cleveland County reported 307 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 287 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 33,309 cases and 411 deaths.

​ Across North Carolina, cases fell in 76 counties, with the best declines in Mecklenburg County, with 2,402 cases from 2,775 a week earlier; in Wake County, with 2,358 cases from 2,728; and in Forsyth County, with 950 cases from 1,117. ​

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

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Within North Carolina, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Surry County with 453 cases per 100,000 per week; Yadkin County with 390; and Halifax County with 386. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Adding the most new cases overall were Mecklenburg County, with 2,402 cases; Wake County, with 2,358 cases; and Guilford County, with 1,175. Weekly case counts rose in 23 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Rutherford, Surry and Moore counties.

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In North Carolina, ​ 83 ​ people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 36 people were reported dead.

A total of 3,098,923 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 25,843 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 94,190,979 people have tested positive and 1,043,840 people have died.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

North Carolina's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Aug. 28. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

  • Last week: 2,884

  • The week before that: 2,591

  • Four weeks ago: 2,370

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

  • Last week: 66,008

  • The week before that: 66,216

  • Four weeks ago: 72,118

Hospitals in 20 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 21 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 25 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Cleveland County reported 307 additional COVID-19 cases this week