NC new cases of coronavirus, percent testing positive trending in the right direction

North Carolina Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen said Tuesday that the state is seeing daily coronavirus metrics trend in the right direction.

Although the state reported a daily high 51 deaths on Tuesday, the number of new cases of the virus per day and the percentage of people testing positive have both been down in the past week to numbers not seen since mid-June.

"Last week was a very positive week," Cohen said. "Case counts were on the lower side, our percent of positive tests is hovering around 5. That was a milestone we were aiming for."

On Tuesday, there were 916 people in hospitals statewide being treated for the coronavirus. Since March, 186,887 people have tested positive for the virus, but most of them – more than 167,000 – have recovered.

Cohen pointed to the decrease in the percent of positive tests as an especially encouraging sign. She called North Carolina "a standout in the South" with the lowest percent positive in the region. Throughout the summer, North Carolina averaged about 7% positive tests. Over the past week or so, that number is down to 5%.