COVID-19 In NC: More Than 2,900 Dead, 716 New Confirmed Cases

NORTH CAROLINA — The number of known coronavirus cases in North Carolina rose by 716 cases Tuesday, increasing the state's tally of COVID-19 cases to 178,635, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data. The increase in cases reflected a surge of 4,381 COVID-19 cases confirmed in the state since Friday, Sept. 4.

The state's virus death toll rose by 12 Tuesday, increasing the number of lives lost to COVID-19 in the state to 2,909. As of Sept. 8, about 6.2 percent of tests in North Carolina were positive, according to DHHS data.

At least 827 patients were hospitalized for COVID-like symptoms Tuesday, however a reporting issue throughout the state likely means "actual hospital numbers are higher, DHHS said.

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A Sept. 8 survey of 80 percent of the state's hospitals reported that there were 5,895 empty staffed inpatient hospital beds and 588 empty staffed intensive care unit beds remaining in the state. Ventilators also remained in supply, according to the survey, with 2,166 available, DHHS said.

"Since Friday, September 4, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has experienced continued technical and submissions issues with hospital systems data, which have been exacerbated by the holiday weekend, resulting in incomplete hospitalization data," DHHS said. "NCDHHS is working with all parties to resolve these issues."

As of Tuesday, there were six COVID-19 clusters reported in North Carolina schools and 19 active clusters at child care centers. DHHS defines a cluster as five or more laboratory-confirmed cases that are linked. As of Sept. 8, there were at least 47 positive COVID-19 cases associated with school clusters and at least 279 positive cases associated with child care centers.

Globally, more than 27 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 897,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Tuesday afternoon. In the United States, more than 6.3 million people have been infected and more than 189,000 people have died from COVID-19.

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