NC Labs Facing Shortages In COVID-19 Testing Chemicals

CHARLOTTE, NC — North Carolina is running into critical shortages of chemicals needed to conduct coronavirus testing, which is slowing down the turnaround time for test results, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said Thursday.

"Commercial and hospital labs across the country and labs here in North Carolina are again running into shortages of important chemicals call reagents that are needed to process those lab tests," she said. "Federal help and action is needed to address these supply issues right now."

The supply issues are delaying some test results by as much as week, she said.

North Carolina confirmed 1,629 cases of coronavirus Thursday, increasing the state's total to 68,142, according to DHHS data. To date, 971,120 tests have been completed in the state, with recent daily averages of about 20,000 tests conducted daily.

The state's virus-related death tally rose to 1,391 lives lost to the virus, 18 deaths higher than reported Wednesday.

"Across the country, we continue to see dangerous spikes in viral transmission," Cohen said. "Many states are moving backwards. They're closing businesses again and enacting more restrictions. Some have openly recognized that they moved too fast."

While North Carolina is not "in dire straights," there is reason to be concerned, she said.

"Not only are the number of cases growing, they're growing more quickly," which indicates rapid community spread, she added.

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Hospitalizations increased by 11 patients in the past day throughout North Carolina, to 912 hospitalizations Thursday. Hospital capacity remains available throughout North Carolina, with nearly four out of every five hospital bed occupied. That's according to a DHHS survey of about 93 percent of the state's hospitals, which showed 22 percent availability for both inpatient hospital beds and intensive care unit beds Ventilator readiness remains stable with 26 percent of the state's supply reportedly in use.

Wednesday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper said students and parents will know "within the next couple of weeks" how schools will reopen in August, Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday. The delay in announcing a decision about North Carolina public schools, which was initially expected this week, came as the state recorded a record number of confirmed coronavirus cases in one day.

"Let me be clear: We want our schools open for in-person instruction in August," Cooper said at a July 1 news conference.

Last month, state public health officials unveiled new guidance for schools, outlining possible scenarios for how classed could resume in the upcoming academic school year. Under the new interim guidance released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, K-12 public schools are preparing for three possible scenarios: resuming with minimum social distancing, resuming with moderate social distancing or resuming with remote learning only.

SEE ALSO: No Decision On School Openings As NC Sees Record COVID-19 Jump

The delay in announcing which of the three scenarios would be implemented when the new school year begins next month is due to state officials "working to get more buy-in from teachers and people on the ground," Cooper said.

"A lot of teachers are concerned about going back to school and doing it in safe way," he said.

In an effort to help schools prepare, North Carolina Emergency Management is delivering to each school district and charter school in the state a two-month supply of thermometers, face shield, gowns and surgical masks.

"We've also given school districts access to statewide contracts so they can more easily purchase for their staff and students other health and hygiene supplies like cloth face coverings and hand sanitizer," Cooper said.

As of July 1, eight percent of all tests in North Carolina were positive. The World Health Organization recommends that governments have a percent positive rate of 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days before reopening.

Globally, more than 10.7 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 517,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday. In the United States, more than 2.7 million people have been infected and more than 128,000 people have died from COVID-19.