22 New Coronavirus Deaths In NC, More Than 12K Cases Confirmed

NORTH CAROLINA — At least 22 people in North Carolina lost their lives due to novel-coronavirus illness in the past day, bringing the statewide death toll to 452, according to the latest data released by state public health officials Tuesday morning.

The news comes as North Carolina public health officials reveal new data indicating that more than half of the state's adult population is considered at higher risk for severe illness from new coronavirus, which causes COVID-19.

By Tuesday morning, 12,256 people in North Carolina were confirmed positive for COVID-19. The tally represents an increase by 408 new confirmed cases in the state since Monday, according to data provided by North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services.

Hospitalizations rose by 36 patients overnight to 534, NC DHHS said. That's 59 more hospitalizations that state officials reported Sunday.

More than half of the state's population — 51.1 percent — is considered at higher risk for severe COVID-19 related illness because they are 65 or older, have at least one underlying health condition or both, DHHS said Tuesday. Underlying health conditions include chronic lung disease, cardiovascular disease, severe obesity, diabetes, kidney disease, liver disease and immunosuppressive conditions, including cancer treatment, smoking and other immune disorders.

As of May 4, 31 percent of all people confirmed to have COVID-19 in North Carolina and 75 percent of all the COVID-19 deaths had at least one underlying condition, the health agency said.

COVID-19 is present in every one of North Carolina's 100 counties except Avery County.

The new batch of data released May 5 by state public health officials shows that laboratories in the state completed at least 151,800 tests by Tuesday morning. The total indicates the labs processed 5,336 tests since Monday morning.

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The number of outbreaks confirmed in congregate living facilities in the state, such as nursing homes and correctional facilities, continues to rise. As of Tuesday morning, at least 263 coronavirus-related deaths were reported in congregate living settings, representing about 58 percent of the state's death toll.

As of Tuesday morning, at least 3,388 people had tested positive at North Carolina congregate living facilities as COVID-19 outbreaks were reported in 60 nursing homes, 23 residential care facilities and at least 15 correctional facilities, DHHS said.

According to the state agency, a survey of about 92 percent of the state's hospitals shows that 721 of the available 3,414 ventilators in North Carolina are in use as of Tuesday morning. That represents about 21 percent of the state's ventilators are currently in use. When it comes to intensive care unit beds, 910 beds, or about 28 percent, of 3,223 beds are filled.

Globally, more than 3.6 million have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 253,000 people have lost their lives, Johns Hopkins University reported Tuesday afternoon. In the U.S., nearly 1.2 million people have been infected and at least 69,079 people have died from COVID-19.

In an attempt to provide as much information to our readers as possible, Patch is publishing a county-by-county breakdown of the coronavirus cases reported in 99 of North Carolina's 100 counties, along with the number of cases by county and the number of deaths:

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