COVID-19 hospitalizations set another record in NC

COVID-19 hospitalizations in North Carolina set a new record, rising to at least 989, the state reported Tuesday.

Coronavirus hospitalizations have not dipped below 900 patients since June 29. Hospitalizations are up seven from Monday and come from reports from 89% of the state’s hospitals.

Although some states where coronavirus cases are surging are facing shortages of hospital beds, North Carolina hospitals still have space available. Seventy-one percent of North Carolina’s inpatient hospital beds are being used, as are 75% of ICU beds.

While hospitalizations are going up, ICU use is staying about the same, Dr. Mandy Cohen, state Department of Health and Human Services secretary, said at a news conference Tuesday.

Statewide numbers show enough beds, but DHHS is closely monitoring in-patient numbers in the Charlotte area, Cohen said, where they’re seeing “hospitalizations kick up a little bit more than the rest of the state.”

The state Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,346 new lab-confirmed coronavirus cases Tuesday, 200 fewer than Monday. Total completed lab tests dropped to 12,854 Tuesday, from 15,906 completed Monday and 21,942 completed Sunday.

Some people say they’re waiting for test results for seven days or longer for results.

Cohen said testing can fluctuate depending on the day of the week. The high volumes of test samples going through labs and a shortage of reagents used to run tests may also be factors in the decline.

People in hospitals who are tested for the coronavirus have results in a day, she said. Results from commercial labs take 6 to 7 days because of the high numbers of tests being processed.

DHHS said that 10% of tests completed Monday were positive. Positive percentages have remained in the 8% to 10% range. Cohen has said that number needs should be closer to 5%.

Since the first case was reported in March, the state has counted 75,875 coronavirus cases.

DHHS reported Monday that 55,318 people are presumed recovered from coronavirus infections. The estimate is based on when people tested positive, median recovery times, and whether or not they were hospitalized.

The state reported 1,420 deaths Tuesday, up 22 from Monday. More than half the state’s deaths are among people who live or work in nursing homes or residential care facilities. People 65 and older account for 12% of the state’s lab-confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 80% of its COVID-19 deaths.

Three residents of an emergency homeless shelter in Durham have tested positive for the coronavirus, Durham Urban Ministries executive director Sheldon Mitchell said in an email Tuesday. One resident had been hospitalized and the shelter learned of the positive test on June 29, Mitchell said in the email. All residents and staff were then tested, and two more residents were found to be infected, he wrote. They are asymptomatic and in isolation. Tests are being offered to shelter volunteers who want one.

The Durham Rescue Mission reported an outbreak in the women and children’s shelter last month when a mother and three children tested positive for the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported.

This story was originally published July 7, 2020 at 12:56 PM with the headline "COVID-19 hospitalizations set another record in NC."