New coronavirus cases leaped in North Carolina in the week ending Sunday, rising 14.2% as 30,130 cases were reported. The previous week had 26,388 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.
North Carolina ranked 15th 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 862,778 cases reported. With 3.15% of the country’s population, North Carolina had 3.49% of the country’s cases in the last week. Across the country, 23 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.
Gaston County reported 695 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 587 cases and five deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 70,771 cases and 871 deaths.
Within North Carolina, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in Vance County with 487 cases per 100,000 per week; Halifax County with 434; and Cumberland County with 433. 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 3,389 cases; Wake County, with 3,284 cases; and Cumberland County, with 1,453. Weekly case counts rose in 80 counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week’s pace were in Cumberland, Wake and Mecklenburg counties.
>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases
Across North Carolina, cases fell in 18 counties, with the best declines in Surry County, with 239 cases from 313 a week earlier; in Carteret County, with 196 cases from 239; and in New Hanover County, with 572 cases from 600.
In North Carolina, 40 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday. In the week before that, 138 people were reported dead.
A total of 2,949,198 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, and 25,435 people have died from the disease, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States 90,410,386 people have tested positive and 1,026,951 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 24. Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:
- Last week: 2,314
- The week before that: 1,994
- Four weeks ago: 1,721
Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:
- Last week: 75,961
- The week before that: 70,927
- Four weeks ago: 61,308
Hospitals in 33 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 33 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 38 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.
