Ten coronavirus deaths reported in Wake County over one weekend

Those deaths make up 14% of the 71 total deaths in Wake County during the pandemic.

North Carolina saw its highest single-day increase of coronavirus cases on Saturday – 2,462 new cases. The daily record beat the previous single-day record by more than 350 cases.

North Carolina Coronavirus dashboard - Maps, charts and data

Hospitalizations hit a new high on Saturday, with 49 more people hospitalized Saturday than Friday, despite fewer hospitals reporting their cases.

On Sunday, 1,070 people were reported to be hospitalized with the virus, and 1,908 more people tested positive for the virus.

Sunday, each county is reporting:

“Record-high numbers like today are concerning," Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said in a statement Saturday. “We all have a responsibility to one another to wear a face covering, avoid crowds and wash our hands often to get our trends going back in the right direction.”

Also this weekend, Florida shattered the national record Sunday for the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases in any state since the beginning of the pandemic, adding more than 15,000 cases, as its daily average death toll continued to also rise.

According to Florida Department of Health statistics, 15,299 people tested positive, for a total of 269,811 cases, and 45 deaths were recorded.

California had the previous record of one-day increase in positive cases – 11,694, set on Wednesday. New York had 11,571 on April 15.

These records come as public schools and universities across America are working to find a way to reopen schools safely.

For North Carolina public schools, the school year begins on Aug. 17. There is no sign that cases of the coronavirus in the state are trending downward.

The governor has not made an announcement how school districts should reopen – if schools should continue online learning, operate at 50% capacity or have the option to have all their students back in school.

A growing chorus of public health experts is urging federal, state and local officials to reconsider how they are reopening the broader economy, and to prioritize K-12 schools – an effort that will likely require closing some other establishments to help curb the virus spread and give children the best shot at returning to classrooms.

“We need to think about what our priorities are as a society, and some other things may just have to wait,” said Helen Jenkins, an infectious disease epidemiologist at Boston University. “I think there are hard choices having to be made by decision makers.”