Almost 12,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in NC, breaking previous records
The state health department reported a daily increase of 11,581 COVID-19 cases Saturday, the highest recorded number in a day, surpassing previous records this week of around 10,000 cases.
A new total of 614,355 coronavirus cases have been reported in the state since the pandemic first was reported in the state in March.
Hospitalizations dropped to 3,871 after reaching a record 3,960 in data reported Friday, according to the state Department of Health and Human Services.
At least 429 patients were admitted into hospitals in the last 24 hours, according to state data. There are currently 357 empty, staffed intensive care unit beds and 4,830 empty, staffed hospital inpatient beds available. On Jan. 1, there were 424 available ICU beds.
Hospital capacity and pressure from COVID-19 has reached all-time highs and hospital staff hope the flu season won’t affect already overwhelmed facilities.
Another 96 deaths were added to the pandemic’s death toll from COVID-19 complications, bringing the total to 7,425. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that North Carolina will reach 8,000 deaths by Jan. 23.
More than 7.4 million tests have been completed in the state as of Saturday.
The positive test rate rose to 14.8% as of Thursday, the latest day for which data are available, an increase from 13.9% the previous day. The rate is nearly triple the 5% that health officials say is optimal to slow virus spread.
The new highly infectious strain of the coronavirus reported first in the United Kingdom and now seen in the United States hasn’t been identified yet in North Carolina. Health officials say we should act as if it’s already here, however.
“A new, highly contagious strand of the virus has been detected in the United States and we need to act as if it’s already here in North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said earlier this week. “This should inspire every one of us to double down on safety precautions.”
Neither the U.K. variant nor a new strain of the virus found in South Africa have been identified in North Carolina, according to Amy Ellis, a DHHS spokeswoman.
This story was originally published January 9, 2021 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Almost 12,000 new COVID-19 cases reported in NC, breaking previous records."
