NC COVID-19 Cases Surge More Than 2K In A Day, 18 New Deaths

NORTH CAROLINA — The number of known novel coronavirus patients once again rose sharply in North Carolina and Friday reached 95,477 known cases, an increase of 2,051 confirmed cases reported in the state since Thursday, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The state also reported 18 new COVID-19 deaths, increasing the virus' death toll to 1,606.

North Carolina is one of 18 states in the "red zone" and in need of more stringent mandates in order to slow the spread of the virus, according to an internal White House Coronavirus Task Force document that emerged this week, the Center for Public Integrity reported.

As of Friday, 1,180 patients were being treated in North Carolina hospitals for coronavirus-related illnesses, reflecting an increase of 46 patients since Thursday, according to DHHS data.

Hospitalizations "are slightly up, but we have capacity in our state," DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said during a news conference Thursday.

A survey of 91 percent of the state's hospitals on Friday indicated there were 4,360 — or about 23 percent — empty inpatient hospital beds and 478 empty intensive care unit beds — about 21 percent — remaining in the state. Ventilator supplies remain plentiful, according to the survey, with about 2,419, or 73 percent, of the state's supply remaining available, DHHS said.

SEE ALSO: NC Given No Warning Before Fed COVID-19 Data Collection Change

"North Carolina is in the red zone for cases, indicating more than 100 new cases per 100,000 population last week, and is nearly in the red zone for test positivity, indicating a rate above 10 percent," according to a 359-page White House Coronavirus Task Force document dated July 14 obtained by the Center for Public Integrity.

Three counties — Mecklenburg, Wake and Durham counties — comprise nearly 34 percent of all new cases in the state, the taskforce report noted.

The taskforce's recommendations to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in North Carolina included:

• Continued efforts to increase testing, contact tracing and engaging with the state's Hispanic community
• Continued promotion of social distancing and the wearing of cloth face coverings when outside the home
• Mandate face coverings in counties with 7-day test positivity greater than 5 percent
• Weekly testing of all staff in nursing homes and long-term car facilities and requiring them to wear cloth face coverings
• Continue to keep bars closed
• In counties with 7-day average test positivity of more than 10 percent, restrict restaurant capacity to 25 percent or lower
• Limit public gatherings to 10 or fewer people

North Carolina counties considered in the red zone, the report said, reported both new cases above 100 per 100,000 population, and a diagnostic test positivity result above 10 percent. As of July 14, the top 12 "red zone" counties were: Mecklenburg, Gaston, Johnston, Union, New Hanover, Cabarrus, Catawba, Robeson, Davidson, Rowan, Randolph and Duplin.

Counties considered to be located in the "yellow zone" were those that reported both new cases between 10-100 per 100,000 population, and a diagnostic test positivity result between 5 -10 percent in the past week. As of July 14, the top 12 "yellow zone" counties were: Wake, Durham, Guilford, Forsyth, Cumberland, Iredell, Alamance, Brunswick, Orange, Wayne, Pitt and Buncombe.

More information about the White House Coronavirus Task Force report may be found here.

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A new policy requiring hospitals send their coronavirus data to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services — and not the Centers for Disease Control — dramatically increased the data elements that needed to be collected by North Carolina hospitals and with no warning, DHHS' Cohen said Thursday afternoon.

"The state has been reporting to the federal government on behalf of the hospitals up until now," Cohen said during a news conference. "This was a very abrupt change. I don't think we got any warning that it was coming."

Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that data related to coronavirus hospitalizations would no longer be collected by the Centers for Disease Control, but instead a private technology firm contracted by the HHS. Proponents of the new policy say it will streamline data collection, however critics contend it's a move meant to sideline the CDC as the primary source of public information, the Associated Press reported.

In North Carolina, the policy change means hospitals will report their COVID-19 data directly to the federal government, along with reporting data to state public health officials.

"Unfortunately that means they have to do double the reporting, but we're hoping as we ingest the new requirements from the federal government that we can go back to streamlining that, so we can again report on behalf of the hospitals," she said.

"We went from needing to report 30 data elements to something like 96 data elements overnight," Cohen said. "That is not something that happens overnight.

The move also raises concerns about what the change in data collection means for transparency and the national response to the pandemic.

"We all have questions now, when that data is going to the federal government, what visibility is coming back," Cohen said. "We will continue to be transparent at the state level but I think it always helps for us to be able to compare with what's going on in other states and understand where we fit in the national landscape."

Globally, nearly 14 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 592,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Friday. In the United States, more than 3.5 million people have been infected and more than 138,000 people have died from COVID-19.

SEE ALSO:

• NC Given No Warning Before Fed COVID-19 Data Collection Change
• NC Schools To Reopen, Offer Choice For Online Learning: Cooper
• Coronavirus Relief Loans In Charlotte: Where PPP Money Went