Iredell COVID-19 Death Toll At 12 As 964 Cases Confirmed

MOORESVILLE, NC — Iredell County public health officials confirmed 964 cases of novel coronavirus Wednesday evening, an increase of 46 confirmed cases of the virus in the county in the span of about 48 hours. As of Wednesday, 21 people in Iredell County were hospitalized with coronavirus-related illness.

As of Wednesday, nine percent of all tests in Iredell County were positive, according to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

One new virus-related death was reported Tuesday, increasing the county's death toll to 12 residents, according to the Iredell County Health Department. At least 371 residents who had tested positive were isolating in their homes, health officials said.

Iredell's increased case count comes as community spread of the virus continues around the state. North Carolina's number of COVID-19 cases rose by 1,435 Wednesday, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to more than 77,000 cases.

As of July 8, at least 1,441 state residents had lost their lives to COVID-19, including 21 deaths reported since Tuesday.

Wednesday marked the third day in a row for record-setting hospitalizations in North Carolina, with at least 994 people seeking medical care. Hospital capacity remains available throughout the state, according to a DHHS survey of about 89 percent of the state's hospitals. According to the state agency, there were 4,399 staffed inpatient hospital beds and 460 intensive care unit beds that remained empty in the state as of July 8. Ventilator readiness remained stable with 73 percent — or about 2,374 — of the state's supply available for use.

While overall North Carolina has available hospital capacity, the issue can vary regionally, DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said during a news conference Tuesday.

"One of the places we're watching closely is the Charlotte area, in terms of hospital capacity. That is a place where we've seen higher rates of hospitalizations," she said.

While hospitalizations have gone up across the state, use of intensive care unit beds has remained stable. "That is a good sign," Cohen said. "We're seeing more patients in the hospital but less of them needing that highest level of severe care," she said.

North Carolina reported nine COVID-19 clusters in child care centers and schools throughout the state — two of which were located in Iredell County. A Mooresville childcare center closed its doors temporarily after a cluster of at least five novel coronavirus cases was confirmed at the facility late last week. Tuesday, DHHS confirmed that the cases involve three staff members and two children at the facility. A cluster was also recently reported at North Iredell High School after five staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

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Iredell County health officials are grouping cases into three regions of the county: North, Central and South. Here's a breakdown of where cases have been confirmed as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, July 8:

North Region (zip codes 27020, 27028, 27055, 28625, 28634, 28636, 28660, 28689 and 28678)

• 235 cases (up from 210 cases reported July 2)

Central Region (zip codes 27013, 28166, 28677)

• 395 cases (up from 334 cases reported July 2)

South Region (zip codes 28036, 28115, 28117, 28125)

• 334 cases (up from 275 cases reported July 2)

About 38 percent of Iredell County's COVID-19 cases were of residents 25 to 49 years old, while about 9 percent of the county's confirmed cases were children under 17 years of age, ICHD data said Tuesday.

The county's COVID-19 case tally as of July 8 included an estimated 560 cases that were assumed recovered, ICHD said.

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