COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on July 26

We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.

More than 900 hospitalizations reported

At least 1,037,373 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 13,580 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,401 new COVID-19 cases on Monday, down from 1,910 on Sunday and 2,133 on Saturday. The state doesn’t update case counts over the weekend.

Ten additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported Monday . Deaths don’t necessarily occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as more information becomes available.

At least 943 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, up from 904 the day before.

As of Saturday, the latest day available, 8.6% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.

Roughly 60% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and about 57% have been fully vaccinated. State health officials round vaccination numbers to the nearest whole number.

COVID spread is at least ‘substantial’ in 13 NC counties

Thirteen of the 100 North Carolina counties are experiencing “critical” or “substantial” spread of COVID-19 as the delta variant continues to threaten the state.

Cherokee, Chowan, Cleveland, Cumberland, Graham, Hoke, Lee, Onslow, Pender, Pitt, Rutherford and Sampson counties are marked orange on the statewide coronavirus map, meaning there’s “substantial community spread” in those areas.

Richmond County is the only one in the state that’s marked in red, indicating a “critical” level of spread.

“In order for a county to be labeled red, it must have more than 200 new cases per 100,000 residents with at least 42 total cases over a 14-day period,” The News & Observer reported Monday. “It must also have either more than 10% of tests returning positive, or a high impact on local hospitals.”

All other counties in the state were labeled as having low, moderate or significant spread.

Billy Graham’s grandson hospitalized with COVID

A minister who preached across North Carolina is in the hospital with coronavirus-related complications, The News & Observer reported.

Jonathan Lotz, grandson of the Rev. Billy Graham, was in intensive care as of Sunday, his mother wrote on Facebook.

“Fifty years ago I could hold my son in my arms,” Anne Graham Lotz wrote in an online post. “Now I have placed him in the arms of Jesus.”

The Rev. Billy Graham, a North Carolina native, was a famous evangelist who died in 2018.

Public universities in NC not requiring vaccines

While some private colleges in North Carolina will require students to be vaccinated against COVID-19 next school year, there won’t be a mandate at the state’s 16 public universities.

UNC System Schools have cited a “lack of clear legal authority” in their decision. But the institutions are recommending that students get their shots.

At UNC-Chapel Hill, roughly 20,000 students reported that they were vaccinated as of earlier this month, The News & Observer reported Saturday.