2,775 COVID-19 Cases Confirmed In NC Over The Weekend

CHARLOTTE, NC — North Carolina confirmed nearly 3,000 novel coronavirus cases throughout the state since Friday, according to a new batch of data released Monday by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The new numbers emerge as the state's top public health official expressed concern that protests could potentially become spreader events.

The case tally includes 674 cases confirmed since Sunday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the state to 29,263. There have been 39 coronavirus-related deaths reported in North Carolina since May 29, NC DHHS said.

The number of patients hospitalized in the state for coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, improved over the weekend. As of Monday, 650 patients were hospitalized, down from 680 reported Friday.

The state collected results from 5,619 tests Monday, increasing the total number of tests processed in the state to 421,908. The state's goal is to test between 5,000 and 7,000 people per day and state public health officials say increases in the number of confirmed cases are expected as testing ramps up throughout North Carolina.

COVID-19 outbreaks in congregate living facilities, such as nursing homes, residential care facilities and correctional facilities included 5,411 confirmed cases Monday, or about 18 percent of the total cases in the state, according to NC DHHS data.

As of Monday, 92 of the state's 409 nursing home facilities had a COVID-19 outbreak. State health officials also reported outbreaks at 44 residential care facilities and 19 correctional facilities. At least 472 nursing home residents, 68 residential care facility residents and 18 inmates in North Carolina have died from coronavirus-related illness.

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According to the state agency, a survey of about 75 percent of the state's hospitals shows that 24 percent of North Carolina's ventilators are currently in use. The supply of hospital beds in North Carolina, is growing thin, with 74 percent of the state's intensive care beds and 84 percent of inpatient hospital beds listed as in use Monday.

It will be weeks before state health officials can determine what impact, if any, protests will have on the number of COVID-19 cases in North Carolina, according to one official.

"We will have to wait and see if the weekend events will spread more virus," DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said Monday at a news conference. "The hard part of this virus is we don't know who is a superspreader."

North Carolina has experienced an acceleration in the viral spread indicated by an increase in the number of hospitalizations and larger increases in day-over-day COVID-19 confirmations, she said. The trends, however, have not yet been traced to specific events, such as recent Reopen NC protests or the easing of restrictions ahead of Memorial Day weekend, Cohen said, adding not enough time has elapsed since those events.

Mecklenburg County, the hardest hit county in the state, reported 575 new cases since Friday, for a total of 4,412 confirmed cases. The county has also reported four new COVID-19 deaths, for a total of 92.

Globally, more than 6.2 million have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 373,000 people have lost their lives, Johns Hopkins University reported Monday. In the U.S., nearly 1.8 million people have been infected and at least 104,584 people have died from COVID-19.

Governor Roy Cooper declared June 1 a Day of Mourningand ordered all state flags to be lowered to half-staff until subset to honor those who lost their lives to novel coronavirus. As of Sunday, nearly 900 North Carolina residents and more than 104,000 people throughout the country have lost their lives to COVID-19.

A national moment of silence was also scheduled at noon Monday.

“This is an opportunity to remind ourselves that our death count is not just a number, it represents people, communities and families in mourning," Cooper said in a statement. "I encourage North Carolinians to join in this moment of silence in honor of the people we have lost and their loved ones who are struggling in the wake of this cruel virus.”

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