NC In 'Red Zone,' Top 20 For Rate Of COVID-19: White House

NORTH CAROLINA — North Carolina is in the "red zone" when it comes to its number of coronavirus cases — a rate that is 18th highest in the U.S., according to a recent report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force.

According to the Sept. 6 report, about a quarter of the new cases in the state stem from Mecklenburg, Wake and Pitt counties, and about 65 percent of all counties have moderate or high levels of community transmission. In the first week of September, North Carolina also reported 112 new cases per 100,000 population, which was higher than the national average of 88 cases per 100,000.

In the area of test positivity, however, North Carolina performed better, the report noted. The state's positivity rate was between 5 percent and 10 percent, coming in 23rd highest in the U.S., landing it in the "yellow zone."

Task Force member Dr. Deborah Birx visited the state Wednesday to speak with state officials, and was complimentary of the state's response to the pandemic, according to a report.

"When we had that Southern outbreak, North Carolina was ahead of that Southern outbreak," she said. "Things have improved in those major metros, but not as fast as we'd like to see," Birx told WTVD.

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The number of known coronavirus cases in North Carolina rose by 1,222 cases Thursday, increasing the state's total number of COVID-19 cases to 180,754, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data.

The state's virus death toll rose by 32 Thursday, increasing the number of lives lost to COVID-19 in the state to 2,990. As of Sept. 10, about 6.3 percent of tests in North Carolina were positive, according to DHHS data.

At least 928 patients were hospitalized for COVID-like symptoms Thursday, 12 more than were reported the day before.

A Sept. 10 survey of 90 percent of the state's hospitals reported that there were 5,281 empty staffed inpatient hospital beds and 581 empty staffed intensive care unit beds remaining in the state. Ventilators also remained in supply, according to the survey, with 2,323 available, DHHS said.

As of Thursday, there were seven COVID-19 clusters reported in North Carolina schools and 15 active clusters at child care centers. DHHS defines a cluster as five or more laboratory-confirmed cases that are linked. As of Sept. 10, there were at least 45 positive COVID-19 cases associated with school clusters and at least 296 positive cases associated with child care centers.

Globally, nearly 28 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 905,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday afternoon. In the United States, more than 6.3 million people have been infected and more than 191,000 people have died from COVID-19.