NC reports almost 2,000 new COVID-19 cases, over 800 current hospitalizations
North Carolina on Friday reported 1,998 new daily COVID-19 cases, the highest daily case difference since April 30, according to the North Carolina DHHS COVID-19 dashboard.
Friday’s new daily cases represent a 198 person increase from Thursday, when 1,800 new COVID-19 cases were announced.
The state now has 817 people hospitalized, an increase of 59 from Thursday’s 758 people and the most the state has recorded since May 16. Of the 817 hospitalized, 204 are adult ICU patients. Twenty-seven percent of COVID-19 hospitalized patients are now in ICUs statewide and 12% are on ventilators.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services previously told The News & Observer that during May and June, more than 99% of recent cases and more than 98% of recent hospitalizations and deaths were in people who were not fully vaccinated. DHHS did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The N&O about whether these statistics continued into July.
This week’s updated County Alert System labeled Richmond County as a red county, indicating critical community spread. It is the only red county in North Carolina. There are 12 orange counties, indicating substantial spread: Cherokee, Chowan, Cleveland, Cumberland, Graham, Hoke, Lee, Onslow, Pitt, Rutherford and Sampson. Two weeks ago, only one county was orange.
The alert system uses a combination of three metrics: case rate, the percentage of tests that are positive and hospital impact within the county.
In total, Durham County has had 26,140 COVID-19 cases over the course of the pandemic, Orange County has had 8,707 and Wake County 91,115.
Over the last 14 days, Durham has averaged 75 cases per 100,000 people, Orange has averaged 55 and Wake 114.
A total of 13,570 people have died of COVID-19 in North Carolina over the course of the pandemic, an increase of eight deaths since Thursday. Deaths are not all reported on the day they occur — DHHS updates the numbers for each date as additional information comes in.
Wake County has seen 743 COVID-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic, Durham has reported 239 deaths and Orange 101.
Over the course of the pandemic, increases in the number of deaths reported each day have generally lagged increases in the number of people hospitalized by a week or more. NCDHHS did not immediately respond to an inquiry from The News & Observer about whether that pattern is likely to continue now that the delta variant is responsible for the majority of new cases and new hospitalizations.
Almost all of the new hospitalizations are among people who have not received a coronavirus vaccination.
Of all North Carolinians ages 12 or older, 57% have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, and 54% are fully vaccinated.
In Wake County, 60% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine. In Durham, the figure is 58% and in Orange it is 66%, according to DHHS.
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that school districts should require masks indoors for all students and staff in elementary and middle schools, regardless of whether or not they’ve been vaccinated.
