North Carolina reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 11,971 new cases. That’s down 25.6% from the previous week’s tally of 16,091 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
North Carolina ranked 10th 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 decreased 7.7% from the week before, with 298,674 cases reported. With 3.15% of the country’s population, North Carolina had 4.01% of the country’s cases in the last week. Across the country, 13 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Cleveland County reported 109 cases and four deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 101 cases and no deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 34,488 cases and 429 deaths.
Across North Carolina, cases fell in 82 counties, with the best declines in Wake County, with 1,074 cases from 1,364 a week earlier; in Forsyth County, with 521 cases from 785; and in Cumberland County, with 411 cases from 652.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Within North Carolina, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Jones County with 265 cases per 100,000 per week; Montgomery County with 210; and Yadkin County with 202. 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 1,227 cases; Wake County, with 1,074 cases; and Guilford County, with 759. Weekly case counts rose in 16 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week’s pace were in Montgomery, Dare and Currituck counties.
In North Carolina, 327 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 67 people were reported dead.
A total of 3,210,837 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 26,852 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 96,699,237 people have tested positive and 1,062,564 people have died.
>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States
North Carolina’s COVID-19 hospital admissions staying flat
USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Oct. 9. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 2,310
- The week before that: 2,288
- Four weeks ago: 2,747
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 50,835
- The week before that: 49,835
- Four weeks ago: 58,231
Hospitals in 18 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 15 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 29 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.
