Has the peak passed? NC COVID cases, hospitalizations trend down

Over the past week, new coronavirus infections and the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 across North Carolina have trended down ever so slightly. Does that mean the pandemic's peak has passed?

He says the trends could hold, not because people are being more cautious, but because there are fewer and fewer people who haven't either had the virus or the vaccine.

North Carolina Coronavirus dashboard - Maps, charts and data

“Even though we are getting lots of these big groups of people, just the number of people susceptible to getting COVID is shrinking and shrinking,” he said. “The way that it peaks was not because of mitigation efforts but because so many people have gotten immunity via being infected or vaccination.”

On Sept. 6, North Carolina was averaging 7,165 new cases a day and 3,814 in hospitals. By Sept. 11, the daily new cases average had dropped to 6,418; hospitalizations dropped to 3,760.

Rate of 'breakthrough' cases in NC remains steady, but vaccinated residents less likely to end up in hospital, die from COVID

While declines are better than increases, there is still work left to do.

In answer to WRAL News' questions about the peak, the state Department of Health and Human Services issued this statement:

“With hospital capacity severely strained, we remain at a critical point in the pandemic … Vaccination is the most effective way to prevent the spread of COVID-19.”

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"I am very hopeful and prayerful," said Josephine Harris, of Orange County. “I have relatives who are not vaccinated. I am pleading with them. I am begging them to get vaccinated.”