August COVID deaths in NC are triple that of July
North Carolina reported 917 people with COVID-19 being treated in intensive care units Monday, the third day in the last four with over 900 in ICUs.
Friday was the first day of the pandemic that the number topped 900, N.C. Department of Health and Human Services statistics showed.
DHHS reported 93 deaths due to the virus over the weekend, but it didn’t specify the dates of those deaths. The state reports deaths as information becomes available. Deaths reported Monday could have happened days or weeks ago.
As of Monday, 14,412 North Carolinians have died due to COVID-19.
Since the delta variant started surging in early July, deaths have increased.
In July, 206 people in North Carolina died due to the virus. This month, more than three times that, 677 people, have died.
Younger people are now dying than earlier in the pandemic, The News & Observer previously reported.
Also, people who are unvaccinated are 15 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who are vaccinated, DHHS reported last week.
NC vaccinations close to national average
As of Monday, half of North Carolina’s total population and 58% of those eligible for the shot, ages 12 and up, are fully vaccinated.
The national rates are 52% and 61% respectively, according to the CDC.
The 917 people in ICUs make up about 26% of the 3,509 hospitalizations due to the virus statewide.
The number of hospitalizations dropped from the 3,666 reported Friday, but it’s still well more than the double the 1,307 reported at the start of August.
North Carolina reported over 19,000 new COVID-19 cases over the weekend. The rate of new cases per day over the last week is more than 6,600. On Aug. 1, the rate was 2,648 per day.
Among test results reported Saturday, the latest available data, 14.5% returned positive. Over the last week of available data, 13% of tests have been reported positive per day.
Health officials have said they want that number at 5% or lower. It’s one of the many indicators the state uses to gauge spread of the virus.
This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 1:52 PM with the headline "August COVID deaths in NC are triple that of July."