2,140 New COVID-19 Cases, 30 Deaths Reported In North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA — North Carolina reported 30 new deaths from novel coronavirus Wednesday as the number of known COVID-19 cases rose by 2,140, surging the state's total to 105,001 total cases, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.

The new deaths increase the state's death toll to 1,698.

Hospitalizations throughout the state, however, saw a slight dip overnight, according to data.
As of Wednesday, there were 1,137 patients being treated in North Carolina hospitals for coronavirus-related illnesses, a decrease of 42 patients since Tuesday.

A survey of 90 percent of the state's hospitals on Wednesday indicated there were 5,021 empty inpatient hospital beds and 514 empty intensive care unit beds remaining in the state. Ventilators remained in supply, according to the survey, with about 2,318 of the state's supply remaining available, DHHS said.

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As state officials eye hospital capacity, Charlotte hospitals are seeing an increased number of COVID-19 patients from South Carolina, DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said Tuesday.

"Our hospitalization data is strictly based on what is happening here within the state of North Carolina, but we're definitely keeping our eye on places where we know where there is a lot of cross-border crossing in order to get their care," Cohen said.

"The place we're watching the most closely is the Charlotte area," she said. "We've had reports of increased amount of folks coming from South Carolina to North Carolina to get treatment at some of the hospitals in the Charlotte area, as well as get testing."

As of Wednesday, a survey of all Charlotte metro hospitals reported 102 patients suspected to have COVID-19 were admitted in the span of 24 hours, which left 43 empty ICU beds and 648 empty staffed inpatient hospital beds remaining in the region.

Cohen said while overall hospitalizations continue to increase, ICU bed use throughout the state has remained stable.

"What we're seeing in other states, whether it's Texas, or Arizona, or Florida, is that they are running out of hospital capacity. Their emergency rooms are getting strained," Cohen said. "We don't want to be in that situation.

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North Carolina, like many states in the U.S., is experiencing growing delays in the turn around times needed to process results.

One strategy state public health officials are implementing to help alleviate the testing backlog is the adoption of new guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that recommend a symptom-based approach to determining infectiousness. The move, according to state officials, will potentially reduce isolation periods from 14 days to 10, which could allow the patient to return to work or normal activities faster.

"Data is now showing that people with mild to moderate COVID-19 really only remain infectious no longer than 10 days after symptom onset," Cohen said.

Someone who has tested positive can now stop self-isolating when they can answer yes to the following questions, Cohen said:

• Has it been at least 10 days since your symptoms started?
• Has it been 24 hours since you last had a fever without using fever reducing medicine?
• Have your symptoms, such as coughing or shortness of breath, improved?

The adaptation of the new guidance will end the previous recommendation that an employee get a negative test result before resuming work duties, which will take pressure off state testing resources, Cohen said.

At least 95 COVID-19 cases in North Carolina are associated with either a school or a child care center, DHHS said Wednesday. 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.

Globally, more than 15 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 617,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday. In the United States, more than 3.9 million people have been infected and more than 142,000 people have died from COVID-19.

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• NC Schools To Reopen, Offer Choice For Online Learning: Cooper
• Coronavirus Relief Loans In Charlotte: Where PPP Money Went
• No Doctor's Referral Needed Now For COVID-19 Testing In NC