Reported hospitalizations from coronavirus set another single-day high in North Carolina
North Carolina health officials will be keeping a close eye on coronavirus trends and metrics this week as Gov. Roy Cooper considers a move to another phase of the state’s reopening.
One trend of concern: hospitalizations. The numbers released Tuesday by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services showed 829 people currently in hospitals, a one-day high in the state. The previous high was 823 on Saturday.
With 85 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS said 26% of the state’s hospital beds and 26% of the ICU beds were available.
The DHHS data reported 751 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. That was a decrease from 983 cases in Monday’s report despite an increase in testing — 12,942 completed tests for Tuesday’s report compared to 11,349 the day before.
There have been 1,154 deaths from COVID-19, with those people ages 65 and older accounting for 81 percent of the fatalities.
Cooper said Monday that an announcement could come early next week on what could be Phase “2.5” or Phase Three of reopening and further easing of restrictions, depending on the COVID-19 data.
“We will always do what’s best for the health and safety of North Carolinians,” Cooper said in the Monday press briefing.
“We’ve got three major initiatives here. We want to make sure that anybody who gets sick with COVID has a hospital bed, an ICU bed and a ventilator if they need one. Number two, we want to slow the spread of the virus. And number three, we want to cushion the blow to our economy.
“We have a lot of our businesses that are open and a lot of things that are pushing our economy along. ... But we’re looking at these numbers and we’re concerned about them.”
Dr. Mandy Cohen, the DHHS secretary, said Monday that there would be “ramped up” testing in nine counties, including Wake, Durham and Johnston. She said other counties likely will be added.
There were 64 new cases of the virus and one additional death in Wake County reported Tuesday. Durham County had 61 new COVID-19 cases and no deaths, and Johnston 21 cases and no additional deaths, NC DHHS reported.
Infections in the state have been climbing since mid-May, and the numbers could continue to climb with crowds gathering at race tracks, protests and at restaurants.
“Right now our hospitals do have bed capacity and that’s good,” Cooper said Monday. “But as Dr. Mandy Cohen can tell you, that can change quickly.”
Forecast models by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predict that North Carolina is one of six states where COVID-19 deaths are expected to increase between June 8 and July 4, McClatchy News has reported.
The News & Observer is keeping its own tally of coronavirus numbers based on data from the NC DHHS and county health departments. As of Tuesday afternoon, there were 45,906 reported cases and 1,169 deaths.
This story was originally published June 16, 2020 at 12:44 PM with the headline "Reported hospitalizations from coronavirus set another single-day high in North Carolina."
