RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Tuesday saw a huge jump in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in North Carolina — 3,377 of them, which not only marks a record high but is 162 more than yesterday, which is one of the highest day-over-day increases of the pandemic.
It’s the third day in a row with a record number of hospitalizations.
Here’s another number to put it in perspective — the number of hospitalized COVID patients has more than doubled in a little over a month. The state had 1,603 patients in hospitals on Nov. 23.
North Carolina’s seven-day rolling average of hospitalizations has jumped past 3,100 for the first time, climbing to 3,141.
Another number that’s cause for concern: the percent positive of 13.5 percent, based on testing results from Sunday. While it’s a drop from yesterday’s revised number of 14.1 percent — that number initially was 14.7 percent — it’s still the fifth-highest single-day figure of the pandemic.
Some not-as-bad news: state officials are reporting 3,563 new cases today, marking the third day in a row with fewer than 4,000. That hadn’t happened since a run of five days around Thanksgiving, from Nov. 27-Dec. 1. That’s made a decent dent in our seven-day rolling average of new cases, which at 5,054 today is about 1,300 down from the all-time high of 6,365 that was set on Christmas Eve. That it’s fallen that far in five days is a pretty good thing.
Another 13 deaths were reported on Tuesday, marking the second day in a row with fewer than 20 of them. The death total is up to 6,574.
