Coronavirus: Bladen’s spike continues – 45 added Sunday day after adding 30; total is 307

ELIZABETHTOWN — Forty-five additions were made to Bladen County’s total of positive coronavirus cases Sunday.

It is the most in a single report since the worldwide pandemic began, and adds to a month-long spike. The county has soared from 100 cases through the May 31 report to 307, including 30 added Saturday and 12 on Friday.

The last seven days have included more cases (113) than March, April and May combined. Through Saturday’s report from the county Health Department, there have been 164 recoveries.

It is not known if the surge in cases is related to a third congregate living setting outbreak showing up in the previous day’s report from the state Department of Health and Human Services. The county and the state have not said where that outbreak is located.

The state defines an outbreak as two or more.

Already known to have outbreaks are Sleepy Creek Farms in the Harrells community, with 54 cases among staff according to Friday’s DHHS report, and Cape Fear Teen Challenge in Elizabethtown, with two cases among residents. DHHS gives congregate living reports on Tuesdays and Fridays with more detail than the daily updates per county that show changes in total number.

A workplace outbreak was identified in April at the Smithfield Foods plant in Tar Heel.

In the ZIP code breakdown from DHHS, there are 57 caess in Elizabethtown and White Lake; 24 in White Oak; 22 in Clarkton; 20 in East Arcadia; 18 in Bladenboro; 13 in Tar Heel; seven in Council; and five each in Dublin and Kelly. The numbers do not match the state’s county total because not all communities are represented. The county’s two deaths were in White Oak and Tar Heel.

North Carolina’s totals released Sunday include:

• 1,220 deaths, up eight from Saturday. Three of those were in congregate living settings.

• 52,801 cases, up 1,412.

• 845 hospitalized, down 38.

• 745,775 tests, up 14,434.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

In adjacent counties, there have been 97 deaths and 3,597 cases. Cumberland has 31 deaths and 1,008 cases; Robeson has 25 deaths and 1,085 cases; Columbus has 35 deaths and 461 cases; Sampson has five deaths and 877 cases; and Pender has one death and 166 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 752 deaths and 7,194 positive cases. That’s 61.6 percent of the state’s deaths and 13.6 percent of the cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 106 nursing homes, 60 residential care facilities, 19 correctional institutions and five other facilities. Of those, five each are in Cumberland and Robeson, four in Columbus, and one is in Sampson.

With 74 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 71 percent of the ventilators, 22 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 21 percent of all hospital beds.

In the personal protective equipment category, no category has less than a 75-day supply.

Among the cases, ages 18-24 is 12 percent of the state’s total. Deaths continue to be mostly among the elderly, with 60 percent being among those 75-and-over, and 20 percent among those ages 65 to 74.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state’s three largest cities and account for 47.2 percent of the deaths (576) and 52.5 percent of the cases (27,741).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 135 deaths and 8,752 positive cases, Rowan County has 38 deaths and 1,019 cases, Cabarrus County has 25 deaths and 869 cases, Union County has 23 deaths and 920 cases, and Gaston County has nine deaths and 737 cases — a total of 230 deaths and 12,297 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Durham County has 60 deaths and 3,196 cases, Wake County has 44 deaths and 3,884 cases, Johnston County has 26 deaths and 1,111 cases, and Orange County has 41 deaths and 538 cases — a total of 171 deaths and 8,729 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 106 deaths and 2,402 cases, Forsyth County has 28 deaths and 2,524 cases, Randolph County has 26 deaths and 1,054 cases, and Davidson County has 15 deaths and 735 cases — a total of 175 deaths and 6,715 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 2.2 million confirmed cases and 119,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in Brazil, with more than 1 million.

There are more than 8.8 million cases worldwide, with more than 465,000 deaths.