Gaston County's COVID cases fall 38.5%; North Carolina cases plummet 29.7%
North Carolina reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 9,199 new cases. That's down 29.7% from the previous week's tally of 13,078 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
North Carolina ranked 39th 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 decreased 24.9% from the week before, with 490,656 cases reported. With 3.15% of the country's population, North Carolina had 1.87% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, three states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Thanksgiving significantly disrupted who got tested, how many people got tested, what labs operated and what government agencies reported on time. Some governments reported only three days of data for the last week; some reported none. Before Thanksgiving, several dozen dozen states were reported rising case counts; in the week ending Sunday, only several states reported rising cases. The United States had been reporting nearly 700,000 new cases per week; in the week ending Sunday, that number was less than 500,000. With the week of Thanksgiving so artificially low, week-to-week comparisons will be skewed. Conversely, next week will appear artificially high and the rate of change in cases and deaths will be skewed the other way. These numbers are unreliable even as they're accurate to what states reported.
Gaston County reported 286 cases and one death in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 465 cases and two deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 41,343 cases and 631 deaths.
Across North Carolina, cases fell in 88 counties, with the best declines in Mecklenburg County, with 889 cases from 1,253 a week earlier; in Wake County, with 956 cases from 1,226; and in Guilford County, with 396 cases from 638.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
North Carolina ranked 20th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 68.1% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 68.8%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.
In the week ending Thursday, North Carolina reported administering another 375,432 vaccine doses, including 220,716 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 231,957 vaccine doses, including 93,060 first doses. In all, North Carolina reported it has administered 13,142,848 total doses.
Within North Carolina, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Alleghany County with 521 cases per 100,000 per week; Yancey County with 354; and Surry County with 203. 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 Wake County, with 956 cases; Mecklenburg County, with 889 cases; and Forsyth County, with 455. Weekly case counts rose in 10 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Swain, Yancey and Bladen counties.
In North Carolina, 79 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 186 people were reported dead.
A total of 1,524,078 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 18,676 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 48,229,210 people have tested positive and 776,639 people have died.
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North Carolina's COVID-19 hospital admissions rising
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Nov. 28.
Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
Last week: 2,031
The week before that: 1,788
Four weeks ago: 1,630
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
Last week: 76,702
The week before that: 75,061
Four weeks ago: 69,423
Hospitals in 25 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 25 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 27 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 Gaston Gazette: Gaston County COVID cases increased by 286 and deaths by one this week
