More Than 4,000 Dead From COVID-19 In North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA — COVID-19 has taken the lives of more than 4,000 North Carolinians in the span of seven months. Wednesday, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 40 new deaths since Tuesday, increasing the state's death toll to 4,032.

The news comes as North Carolina public health officials reported 1,842 newly confirmed coronavirus cases, increasing the state's tally of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases to 250,592.

Across the board, increases in COVID-like syndromic cases, new cases, hospitalizations and the percent of tests that are positive are in increasing statewide.

As of Oct. 21, there were 1,219 coronavirus patients hospitalized in North Carolina hospitals, 196 more than were reported in state hospitals two weeks ago. Of those currently hospitalized, 337 were COVID-19 adult ICU patients.

As of Wednesday, there were 23 COVID-19 clusters reported in K-12 schools in North Carolina and six active clusters at child care centers. DHHS defines a cluster as five or more lab-confirmed cases that are linked. At least 295 positive COVID-19 cases were associated with school clusters in K-12 schools and at least 401 positive cases and three deaths associated with child care centers.

Globally, more than 40.9 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 1.1 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday. In the United States, more than 8.2 million people have been infected and more than 221,000 people have died from COVID-19.