COVID-19 Increase Occurring In Younger Demographic In NC

CHARLOTTE, NC — North Carolina is seeing an increase in confirmed coronavirus in younger residents, Hispanic communities and certain industries such as child care, food processing and construction, according to the state's top doctor.

"The largest increases in cases that we're seeing have been in younger folks, those under the age of 49," North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said during a news conference Monday. "We're also seeing Hispanic and Latinx communities are being particularly hard hit by COVID-19."

State public health officials continue to see "significant spread across the state" of the virus as emergency room visits for COVID-like symptoms increased in the past two weeks, Cohen said. "Our cases continue to climb and our percent that are positive continues to be high at around 10 percent," she said.

As of Monday, at least 46 percent of North Carolina's nearly 54,000 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, are in the Hispanic community, according to DHHS data.

Of the 53,605 confirmed cases in the state, 45 percent of those infected are between the ages of 25 and 49 years of age.

Monday night, North Carolina will begin posting data related to COVID-19 clusters related to schools and childcare facilities, Cohen said.

"There are three [clusters]," Cohen said. "We know we have lots of childcare centers across the state so having three is not a huge number but it reminds us again about the importance of the transmission of this virus. It's in our communities and we are starting to see more spread in settings that involve our kids."

This week, Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to make a decision on the status of the state's "Phase 2" reopening, which is set to expire Friday, unless it is extended or changed. Over the weekend Cooper vetoed a state house bill that would have allowed gyms, fitness centers and other exercise facilities to reopen.

"Tying the hands of public health officials in times of pandemic is dangerous, especially when case counts and hospitalizations are rising," said Cooper in a statement on HB 594. "State and local officials must be able to take swift action during the COVID-19 emergency to prevent a surge of patients from overwhelming hospitals and endangering the lives of North Carolinians."

North Carolina's coronavirus death toll increased to 1,223 lives lost from COVID-19 Monday following three new deaths since Sunday. Hospitalizations also increased to 870, up from 845 reported Sunday.

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