Another lab delay leads to lower-than-expected coronavirus data

A delay at one of the commercial laboratories that reports coronavirus test results to the state resulted in a lower-than-expected report of new cases on Monday.

"We did not receive one of the commercial labs full testing data file in time for inclusion with today’s numbers. This data has now been submitted and will be reflected in tomorrow’s dashboard numbers," said Kelly Haight, spokeswoman for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The state reported 564 new cases on Monday, the lowest daily number since May 27. Over the past seven days, the state has averaged about 1,200 new cases per day, a decline from the peak in mid-July of an average over 2,000 per day.

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To date, 145,570 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the novel coronavirus since March 3. The majority of them – 127,749 – have recovered. Across the state, 980 people remain in hospitals being treated for COVID-19, and 2,376 have died.

More than 5.4 million people in the United States have tested positive for the virus. That's the equivalent of all the cases in the two countries with the second- and third-greatest numbers of cases, Brazil and India, respectively.

More than 170,000 have died nationwide, with the greatest number of deaths in New York.

North Carolina Coronavirus dashboard - Maps, charts and data