COVID-19 deaths in North Carolina approach 3,000, with 49 newly reported

North Carolina reported 897 new lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases Wednesday, an increase over Tuesday but far below recent daily peaks of more than 2,000.

The state Department of Health and Human Services counts 179,532 lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the state since the pandemic started in March.

As the COVID-19 death toll approaches 3,000 in North Carolina, DHHS reported another 49 Wednesday, bringing the total to 2,958. Not all deaths occur on the same day, and are based on when DHHS gets reports. The 49 deaths are one shy of the record 50 reported Saturday.

Though they make up only 13% of COVID-19 cases, people 65 and older account for 80% of COVID-19 deaths, according to DHHS.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, has called COVID-19 deaths a “lagging indicator” as they occur weeks after people are infected.

On Monday, 7.1% of tests were positive, higher than the 5% positive state health officials want.

COVID-19 hospitalizations jumped by 90 patients on Tuesday, to 916, with 86% of hospitals reporting. The increase may be due to incomplete hospital reports from Sept. 4 through Sept. 7. DHHS said in a note on its website that there were likely more people hospitalized on those dates than the dashboard shows.

Students at UNC-Chapel Hill can now get daily cornoavirus tests, The News & Observer reported. The effort to spot cases before students show symptoms starts with voluntary testing of students living in dorms and will expand to students living off campus in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area.

Quickly rising COVID-19 cases forced UNC-Chapel Hill to move all undergraduate instruction online on Aug. 17, after one week of classes. Most students were told to move out of dorms and residence halls.

As voters prepare to cast ballots during the pandemic, the state Board of Elections reported that 710,798 voters, or nearly 10% of those registered, had requested absentee ballots through Tuesday.

This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 1:00 PM with the headline "COVID-19 deaths in North Carolina approach 3,000, with 49 newly reported."