New COVID-19 Record Set In NC, Nearly 4,300 New Cases In A Day

NORTH CAROLINA — Thursday was a record-breaking day for new coronavirus cases in North Carolina. State public health officials reported 4,296 newly confirmed cases of COVID-19, the highest one-day increase recorded in the state that increased the state's total of cases to 325,158 cases.

Hospitalizations for COVID-19 illness in the state also rose to a new high of 1,538 patients Thursday. As of Nov. 19, the percent of positive tests in the state was 7.9 percent, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data.

DHHS reported that about 80 percent of the state's staffed intensive care unit beds were in use Thursday, leaving 468 staffed ICU beds empty. About 72 percent of the state's staffed inpatient beds were in use, leaving about 5,600 empty beds available.

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Deaths also rose by 38 since Wednesday, increasing the number of lives lost to the virus in the state to 4,936.

"I am very concerned," DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said in a statement Thursday. "We are seeing warning signs in our trends that we need to heed to keep our family and friends from getting sick and ensuring our hospitals are able to care for those that have serious illness."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide advisory urging anyone considering travel for Thanksgiving to reconsider.

The federal agency issued a stark warning to Americans during a Thursday news conference, according to a report by The Washington Post: If you travel and choose to spend the holidays with friends and families, you could inadvertently bring the coronavirus home with you.

"What's at stake is basically the increased chance of one of your loved ones becoming sick and then being hospitalized and dying," Henry Walke, the CDC's COVID-19 incident manager, said during the briefing.

SEE ALSO: CDC Advises No Thanksgiving Travel Amid Coronavirus Spikes

Last week, in a bid to curb the increasing transmission of coronavirus throughout the state, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a new executive order clamping down on indoor gatherings, reducing the limit from 25 to 10. The new executive order, which went into effect Friday, is set to remain in place through Friday, Dec. 4.

Globally, more than 56.5 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 1.3 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday. In the United States, more than 11.5 million people have been infected and more than 251,000 people have died from COVID-19.