COVID-19 Hospitalizations Increasing, NC Reports 1,276 New Cases

NORTH CAROLINA — As coronavirus spread continues throughout the state, hospitalizations of COVID-19 patients are also increasing, according to state data. As of Monday, about 83 percent of staffed intensive care unit beds in the 13-county Charlotte metro region were full.

North Carolina public health officials reported the number of newly confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 232,747 cases Monday, an increase of 1,276 cases in the span of a day. Deaths also ticked up, as well. As of Oct. 12, the state's coronavirus death toll was 3,773, three more than reported Sunday.

Hospitalizations have steadily increased throughout the state during the past week, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. As of Oct. 11, there were 1,109 coronavirus patients hospitalized, representing an overall increase of 135 patients in a week. Of that amount, 314 were COVID-19 adult ICU patients — the highest number for COVID-19 patients in need of specialized care in at least a month.

In the Charlotte metro region, staffed ICU resources are growing thinner, according to the data. According to an Oct. 11 survey of all hospitals in the greater Charlotte metro, 71 — or about 17 percent — of the region's 427 staffed ICU beds remained empty. Of the 356 staffed ICU beds that were full, 67 were listed as adult ICU COVID-19 patients. According to DHHS, the region also has 260 unreported or unstaffed beds.

When looking at the region's staffed inpatient beds, there was slightly more availability reported. As of Oct. 11, the region's hospitals reported 3,550 — or about 76 percent — of its total 4,672 staffed inpatient beds were full. About 29 percent of the region's ventilators were also reported in use.

Last week, North Carolina's top public health official acknowledged that coronavirus trends were taking a turn in the wrong direction in the state. "Our cases have ticked up, as have the percent that have tested positive and hospitalizations," North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said.

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As of Monday, there were 18 COVID-19 clusters reported in North Carolina schools and 11 active clusters at child care centers. DHHS defines a cluster as five or more lab-confirmed cases that are linked. At least 227 positive COVID-19 cases were associated with school clusters and at least 393 positive cases and three deaths associated with child care centers.

Globally, more than 37 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 1 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Monday. In the United States, more than 7.7 million people have been infected and nearly 215,000 people have died from COVID-19.

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