Health Team

NC reports third-highest number of coronavirus cases in one day since start of pandemic

Numbers reported by the North Carolina Department of Health this week are looking grim. The state saw three new highs when reporting coronavirus cases, and hit a record-high in coronavirus deaths.

Posted Updated

By
Maggie Brown
, WRAL multiplatform producer
RALEIGH, N.C. — Coronavirus data reported by the North Carolina Department of Health this week raises concerns. The state reached three new highs when reporting coronavirus cases in the past nine days, and hit a record-high in coronavirus deaths.

WRAL Data Trackers' 7-day rolling average continues to inch upward. On Friday, the rolling average was as high as it has ever been at 2,081. A month ago, the rolling average was more than 750 cases lower.

A total of 2,584 people tested positive for coronavirus on Saturday, the third-highest number of coronavirus cases reported since the start of the pandemic. In the past week, 215 people died from the coronavirus.

On Friday, the country hit an all-time high in new coronavirus cases -- more than 83,000 infections were reported in one day.
For 18 days in a row, hospitals in North Carolina have reported treating 1,000 or more coronavirus patients. On Tuesday, more than 50 deaths were reported alone. More than 4,000 people have died since the pandemic first reached North Carolina in March.

Health officials continue to encourage the public to wear a mask and stay away from large gatherings. Social distancing, hand washing, and wearing a cloth face mask remain the best way to slow the spread of coronavirus in a community, experts say.

If everyone wore a face mask the pandemic would be under control, according to Robert Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

"If we did it for six, eight, ten, twelve weeks, we'd bring this pandemic under control," Redfield said.

Right now, an average of 6.5% of coronavirus tests reported across the state are coming back positive. That’s an increase of about 1.5% since this time last month.

"Recent data suggest that smaller, more intimate gatherings of family, friends and neighbors are driving infection, especially as activities move indoors and adherence to face covering and social distancing wanes," a White House Coronavirus Task Force report states.
Health officials warn as the winter months approach, we could see more coronavirus cases. Experts say that with the holidays and cold winter approaching, more people could travel and spread coronavirus to friends and family.
On Tuesday, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and the North Carolina Department of Public Safety sent letters to leaders of the three most populous counties in the state, along with 33 others identified as seeing particular spikes based on cases per 10,000 people or the number of new cases.

"We must keep prevention at the forefront," Gov. Roy Cooper said. "Wearing a mask shows you care about others."

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