Coronavirus: Bladen County’s case total goes down again, now at 91

ELIZABETHTOWN — Once adding two to three cases a day, Bladen County has now lost three cases to reassignment from its count over the last two days.

The total now rests at 91, with two deaths, following release Wednesday of statistics from the state Department of Health and Human Services. Since reporting its second case April 18, Bladen County had not had back-to-back days without adding a case until Monday and Tuesday and only four days since had not included at least one case added.

In the DHHS postal breakdown, the ZIP code for Elizabethtown and White Lake has 20 cases. There have been 11 each in Tar Heel and Clarkton, 10 in Bladenboro, nine in White Oak, six in Council, four in East Arcadia, two in Dublin, and one in Kelly. The numbers do not match the state’s county total because not all communities are represented; the addition of Dublin’s ZIP code on Tuesday was new, and Bladenboro’s total went down one on Wednesday.

In adjacent counties, there have been 51 deaths and 2,063 cases. Cumberland has 16 deaths and 600 cases; Columbus has 22 deaths and 304 cases; Robeson has 11 deaths and 680 cases; Sampson has one death and 405 cases; and Pender has one death and 74 cases.

Across the state, the death toll rose by 28 to 794, lab-confirmed cases rose 488 to 24,628, and hospitalizations rose 81 to 702.

Congregate living settings have reported 497 deaths and 4,976 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified at 84 nursing homes, 35 residential care facilities, 17 correctional institutions and six other facilities. Of those, five are in Columbus, four in Robeson, three in Cumberland, and one in Pender.

One residential care facility and one prison were dropped from the list Wednesday.

The state defines an outbreak as two or more.

With 92 percent of hospitals reporting, the state reports availability of 76 percent of ventilators, 22 percent of intensive care unit beds, and 29 percent of hospital beds.

In the personal protective equipment category, gowns and N95 respirator masks have less than a 30-day supply.

There was no significant change to the number of cases involving the state’s three largest urban areas. They have about half of the cases and deaths.

There was also no big change in age and gender breakdown. Those 50-and-over account for 96 percent of the deaths and 41 percent of the cases, with ages 25-49 having 44 percent of the cases. The split of cases and deaths is close to even between men and women.