NC COVID-19 Update: 51 Deaths, 1,106 Newly Confirmed Cases

NORTH CAROLINA — Labs in North Carolina confirmed at least 1,106 cases of COVID-19 Tuesday, according to state public health officials. The news increases the state's tally to 186,887 known cases, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said.

As of Tuesday, North Carolina's death toll was 3,111 lives lost to the virus, an increase of 51 deaths since Monday.

As of Sept. 15, about 5 percent of tests in North Carolina were positive, DHHS data showed.

Reported hospitalizations rose overnight throughout the state. At least 916 patients were hospitalized for COVID-like symptoms Tuesday, an increase of 21 patients since Monday.

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A Sept. 15 survey of 94 percent of the state's hospitals reported that there were 5,473 empty staffed inpatient hospital beds and 539 empty staffed intensive care unit beds remaining in the state. Ventilators also remained in supply, according to the survey, with 2,282 available, DHHS said.

As of Tuesday, there were seven COVID-19 clusters reported in North Carolina schools and 14 active clusters at child care centers. DHHS defines a cluster as five or more laboratory-confirmed cases that are linked. As of Sept. 15, there were at least 47 positive COVID-19 cases associated with school clusters and at least 316 positive cases associated with child care centers.

Globally, more than 29 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 929,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Tuesday. In the United States, more than 6.5 million people have been infected and nearly 195,000 people have died from COVID-19.

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