NC's COVID-19 Tally Now More Than 101K, Hospitalizations Dip

NORTH CAROLINA — The number of known novel coronavirus patients increased to 101,046 in North Carolina Monday, an increase of 1,268 confirmed cases reported in the state since Sunday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The state also reported eight new COVID-19 deaths Monday, increasing the virus' death toll to 1,642.

Hospitalizations, however have decreased in recent days. As of Monday, there were 1,086 patients being treated in North Carolina hospitals for coronavirus-related illnesses, a decrease of 94 patients since Friday, according to DHHS data.

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A survey of 86 percent of the state's hospitals on Monday indicated there were 4,815 empty inpatient hospital beds and 553 empty intensive care unit beds remaining in the state. Ventilator supplies remain plentiful, according to the survey, with about 2,391 of the state's supply remaining available, DHHS said.

At least 92 COVID-19 cases in North Carolina are associated with either a school or a child care center, DHHS said Monday. School principals and child care center operators are required to report suspected coronavirus cases to public health officials. "In a child care or school setting, a COVID-19 cluster is defined as a minimum of five laboratory-confirmed cases will illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases," DHHS said.

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Of the clusters reported at 10 child care centers and one middle school in Union County, 43 staff members and 44 children had tested positive for COVID-19, according to a July 17 account by DHHS.

Globally, more than 14 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and nearly 607,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Monday. In the United States, more than 3.7 million people have been infected and more than 140,000 people have died from COVID-19.

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