NC COVID-19 Update: 23 Deaths, At Least 1,711 New Cases

NORTH CAROLINA — The spread of coronavirus in North Carolina rose to 222,969 confirmed cases Wednesday. The new tally reflects an increase of 1,711 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, as the state also reported an increase in patients in need of medical care.

As of Wednesday, 1,028 patients were hospitalized for COVID-19 related illness throughout North Carolina, at least 15 more than reported Tuesday, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data.

At least 413 patients suspected to have COVID-19 were admitted into North Carolina hospitals in the last day, according to state public health officials — the highest one-day admission rate in at least a month.

North Carolina's coronavirus death toll also rose Wednesday. At least 23 lives were lost since Tuesday, increasing the state's total to 3,693 deaths.

An Oct. 7 survey of 93 percent of the state's hospitals reported that there were 5,274 empty staffed inpatient hospital beds and 500 empty staffed intensive care unit beds remaining in the state. Ventilators also remained in supply, according to the survey, with 2,408 available, DHHS said.

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As of Wednesday, there were 16 COVID-19 clusters reported in North Carolina schools and 9 active clusters at child care centers. DHHS defines a cluster as five or more lab-confirmed cases that are linked. As of Oct. 7, there were at least 196 positive COVID-19 cases associated with school clusters and at least 388 positive cases and three deaths associated with child care centers.

Globally, more than 35.9 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 1 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday. In the United States, more than 7.5 million people have been infected and more than 211,000 people have died from COVID-19.