COVID-19 Testing Surge Confirms 788 New Cases In NC

NORTH CAROLINA — North Carolina labs confirmed 788 cases of new coronavirus Thursday, increasing the state's total to 20,910 cases, according to the latest batch of data released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

A total of 716 people in North Carolina have lost their lives due to coronavirus-related illness, up 14 deaths since Tuesday.

State public health officials say increases in the number of confirmed cases are expected as testing ramps up throughout North Carolina. The state collected results from 13,042 tests Thursday, which increased the total number of tests processed in the state to 290,645. The state's goal is to test between 5,000 and 7,000 people per day.

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Hospitalizations also increased overnight to 578 patients with coronavirus-related illness, 24 more than reported Wednesday. As of May 18, an estimated 11,637 residents who were confirmed to have the coronavirus are considered likely recovered, NC DHHS said.

According to the state agency, a survey of about 89 percent of the state's hospitals shows that 23 percent of North Carolina's ventilators are currently in use.

The demand for the state's supply of hospital beds, however, is growing, with 19 percent of the state's intensive care beds and 22 percent of inpatient hospital beds listed as available Thursday.

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COVID-19 outbreaks in congregate living facilities, such as nursing homes, residential care facilities and correctional facilities included 4,587 confirmed cases Thursday, or about 22 percent of the total cases in the state, according to NC DHHS data.

As of Thursday, there were 81 nursing homes, 35 residential care facilities and 18 correctional facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks. At least 383 nursing home residents, 56 residential care facility residents and 14 inmates in North Carolina have died from coronavirus-related illness.

Mecklenburg County continues to report the most number of positive cases. As of Thursday, 2,894 people had tested positive and 70 COVID-19 deaths were reported in the county, DHHS said.

In the Research Triangle, Wake County reported 1,346 confirmed cases and 32 deaths as of Thursday. Durham County reported 1,119 confirmed cases and 42 deaths.

Globally, nearly 5 million have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 329,000 people have lost their lives, Johns Hopkins University reported Thursday afternoon. In the U.S., more than 1.5 million people have been infected and at least 93,606 people have died from COVID-19.

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