New coronavirus cases leaped in North Carolina in the week ending Sunday, rising 12.6% as 33,932 cases were reported. The previous week had 30,130 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
North Carolina ranked eighth among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States increased 7.4% from the week before, with 906,593 cases reported. With 3.15% of the country’s population, North Carolina had 3.74% of the country’s cases in the last week. Across the country, 28 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Gaston County reported 738 cases and seven deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 695 cases and zero deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 71,509 cases and 878 deaths.
Within North Carolina, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Richmond County with 587 cases per 100,000 per week; Duplin County with 552; and Chowan County with 545. The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.
Adding the most new cases overall were Mecklenburg County, with 3,897 cases; Wake County, with 3,434 cases; and Guilford County, with 1,339. Weekly case counts rose in 77 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week’s pace were in Mecklenburg, Forsyth and Guilford counties.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Across North Carolina, cases fell in 22 counties, with the best declines in Cumberland County, with 1,264 cases from 1,453 a week earlier; in Durham County, with 1,130 cases from 1,235; and in McDowell County, with 124 cases from 187.
In North Carolina, 48 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 40 people were reported dead.
A total of 2,983,130 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 25,483 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 91,316,648 people have tested positive and 1,029,926 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
North Carolina’s COVID-19 hospital admissions rising
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, July 31. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 2,421
- The week before that: 2,258
- Four weeks ago: 1,799
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 75,143
- The week before that: 73,476
- Four weeks ago: 63,312
Hospitals in 24 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 21 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 30 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.
The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka at mstucka@gannett.com.
