NC coronavirus hospitalizations stay high as state surpasses 81,000 cases
While North Carolina’s daily number of COVID-19 cases dropped slightly on Friday, hospitalizations increased to a new record, the state’s Department of Health and Human Services reported.
On Thursday, North Carolina reached over 1,000 hospitalizations for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Hospitalizations have now risen for six straight days since Sunday, as Friday’s report showed 1,046 hospitalized — an increase of 12 — with 92% of hospitals reporting. There are 882 patients on ventilators, though not all related to COVID-19, with 22% of ICU beds available.
“Right now our hospitals still have capacity to meet this increased demand, and that’s a good thing,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS press secretary, said in a press conference Thursday afternoon. She did, however, note that hospitalizations are a “lagging metric” — those being hospitalized now were infected one to two weeks ago.
While hospitalizations are high, the number of patients needing intensive care has remained steady. Less than 40% of WakeMed’s coronavirus patients are in the ICU, and the largest group of patients is 65 and older.
North Carolina now has over 81,000 cases, 45% of which are people between the age of 25-49.
After reaching the second-highest number of positive confirmed cases Thursday, 1,982 cases were recorded Friday, still one of the highest since the coronavirus pandemic started in March.
Over 1 million tests have been administered across the state, with 22,399 reported on June 10.
A Republican state senator tested positive for coronavirus and may have had it while lawmakers were in Raleigh earlier this week, according to a news release. Republican protesters with ReOpen NC showed up at the legislature on Wednesday trying to meet with lawmakers. The senator was not named in the announcement by Senate leader Phil Berger on Friday, and it is unknown whether they met with protesters.
The coronavirus continues to disproportionately affect North Carolina’s minority communities, specifically the Hispanic population. Duke professors said these communities need health officials to convince them to trust the government.
Gov. Roy Cooper said in a press conference Thursday that 300 new, free testing sites would be placed in under-served communities. He also encouraged people to cooperate if contacted by contact tracers.
“This pandemic is hitting historically marginalized populations really hard,” Cooper said. “Long-standing inequities have left these communities more vulnerable to COVID-19, and this major addition of free testing sites will help save lives.”
What comes next in NC?
Cooper also said Thursday that he would announce a plan for reopening North Carolina schools and information about Phase 3 of the state’s reopening next week. Cooper has vetoed multiple reopening bills passed by the General Assembly, and has not yet confirmed Phase 3’s tentative start date of July 17.
The News & Observer asked experts to weigh in on the risks of going back to school; spending time at bars, gyms and bowling alleys; and participating in outdoor protests as a follow-up to a similar story in May when North Carolina entered Phase 2 of its reopening plan. Generally, experts said they were still being as cautious as they were in May, if not more so.
Meanwhile, Durham County loosened its restrictions on mass gatherings to align with Cooper’s mandate allowing indoor gatherings of up to 10 people and outdoor gatherings of 25 people. Durham will also require businesses to display signs telling patrons to wear masks.
But in Orange County, new restrictions on food and beverage sales go into effect Friday at 5 p.m. Restaurants, bars and other food service establishments will not be allowed to sell alcohol after 10 p.m. Patrons will also not be allowed to sit or stand at bars, or touch shared surfaces such as pool tables.
This story was originally published July 10, 2020 at 12:52 PM with the headline "NC coronavirus hospitalizations stay high as state surpasses 81,000 cases."