Coronavirus: Active cases 47, hospitalizations at two

Alan Wooten, Bladen Journal, Elizabethtown, N.C.
·4 min read

Apr. 19—ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County's coronavirus case total went up 13 between Friday and Monday, the state and county reported.

The total recoveries increased by six. There are 47 cases considered active, and two people among them hospitalized.

Since the pandemic began, Bladen has had 41 deaths, 3,168 cases and 3,080 recoveries.

Vaccination series are complete for 21.5 percent of the county and 23 percent of the state, the Department of Health and Human Services says. There are 7,042 people fully vaccinated in Bladen County, and 8,724 partially vaccinated. Statewide, there are 2,408,745 people fully vaccinated and 3,126,934 partially vaccinated.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 1,068 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 760 in Bladenboro; 416 in Clarkton; 341 in East Arcadia; 170 in White Oak; 161 in Tar Heel; 87 in Council; and 61 in Kelly.

There are 20 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been eight in Bladenboro; five in East Arcadia; four in Clarkton; two each in Council and White Oak; and one each in Tar Heel and Kelly. The Dublin ZIP code disappeared from the state report on Jan. 29.

Monday's totals from the state included:

—12,418 deaths, up 31 from Friday's noon report.

—949,366 cases, up 5,673.

—1,096 hospitalized, up 32.

—11,968,084 tests, up 93,139.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health conditions, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

In Bladen County, the ages 25-49 category has had 38 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 22 percent, 18-24 has 12 percent, 17-and-under has 14 percent, 65-74 has 11 percent and 75-or-older has 5 percent. Ages for 22 of 41 deaths are suppressed; six are ages 75-and-older, six are ages 65-74, five are ages 50-64, and two are ages 25-49.

Statewide, the ages 25-49 category has had 39 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 20 percent, 18-24 has 14 percent, 17-and-under has 12 percent, 65-74 has 8 percent and 75-or-older has 6 percent. Of the fatalities, ages 75-and-older has made up 59 percent, 65-74 has 23 percent, 50-64 has 14 percent and 25-49 has 4 percent.

In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 845 deaths and 62,055 cases. Cumberland has 294 deaths and 26,982 cases; Robeson has 227 deaths and 15,987 cases; Columbus has 149 deaths and 6,220 cases; Sampson has 106 deaths and 7,684 cases; and Pender has 69 deaths and 5,182 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 5,469 deaths and 71,425 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 137 nursing homes, 67 residential care facilities, 52 correctional institutions and four other facilities. Of those, 10 are in Cumberland, seven in Robeson, five in Pender, two in Sampson, and one each in Bladen and Columbus.

Robeson has four clusters, and three in Cumberland.

With 92 percent of the state's hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 74 percent of the ventilators, 25 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 28 percent of all hospital beds.

In the personal protective equipment category, medical KN95 respirators have 60 days supply. All other categories are at least four months.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state's three largest cities and account for 38.3 percent of the deaths (4,762) and 46.5 percent of the cases (441,302).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 924 deaths and 107,500 positive cases, Gaston County has 409 deaths and 25,706 cases, Rowan County has 299 deaths and 16,265 cases, Cabarrus County has 248 deaths and 20,922 cases, and Union County has 211 deaths and 23,395 cases — a total of 2,091 deaths and 193,788 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 713 deaths and 84,154 cases, Durham County has 217 deaths and 24,242 cases, Johnston County has 209 deaths and 20,367 cases, and Orange County has 101 deaths and 8,355 cases — a total of 1,240 deaths and 137,118 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 655 deaths and 45,274 cases, Forsyth County has 369 deaths and 34,553 cases, Randolph County has 222 deaths and 14,670 cases, and Davidson County has 185 deaths and 15,899 cases — a total of 1,431 deaths and 110,396 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 31.7 million confirmed cases and 567,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 15 million.

There have been more than 141.7 million cases worldwide, with more than 3 million deaths.

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.