Health Team

Rise in coronavirus cases across NC causing more concern

As North Carolina shatters another new record in Coronavirus cases, what's behind the surge and which counties and age groups are behind the move?

Posted Updated

By
Julian Grace
, WRAL anchor/reporter
WILSON, N.C.As North Carolina shatters another new record in coronavirus cases, what’s behind the surge and which counties and age groups are behind the move?

Wilson County is one of the hot spots that is being monitored in the state. Some residents are expressing concern, too. Many people continue to wear masks and practice social distancing, but cases continue to pop up.

Wilson County has a population just over 81,000, and in that number, 576 people are the latest to be diagnosed with coronavirus.

“It is very surprising, I think most of the people here have good practices," said Wilson resident Rodney Gray.

WRAL News did some digging and found neighboring Greene County had the fastest-growing number of coronavirus cases in the region at 764, while Edgecombe County had 612 and Wayne County had 525 cases.

In other parts of the state, there are also significant spikes in new cases. Avery County had 803 cases, while Jackson County has 646 cases. These new cases are made up of mostly 25- to 49-year-olds (40%), immediately followed by 50- to 64 year-olds (19%). For newly-admitted hospital patients in the state, the largest group of people are coming from the 60- to 69-year-old age range.

“It’s certainly disappointing to see that," said Jessica Dixon, WakeMed infection prevention specialist. "It's really disheartening to me as an infection preventionist and certainly to all of us as health care providers and as members of this community.”

As we approach the holiday season, doctors point out this virus isn’t taking any days off.

“The virus doesn’t care if it’s Halloween or Memorial Day, or someone’s birthday or we have a legitimate reason to congregate and protest," said David Wohl, an infectious disease expert. "It just knows that there’s an opportunity to spread. And whenever we give the virus the opportunity to spread it’ll take it.”

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