Coronavirus: 60 cases being monitored in Bladen County

ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County has added another five lab-confirmed cases of cornavirus and has 60 active being monitored.

The county Health Department and the state Department of Health and Human Services, in their daily report Wednesday, said the county has had 729 cases since the pandemic began contributing to 10 deaths. Three people are hospitalized and 659 have recovered.

The postal ZIP code report from DHHS lists 200 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 82 in Bladenboro; 71 in East Arcadia; 67 in Clarkton; 62 in White Oak; 52 in Tar Heel; 16 in Kelly; 13 in Council; and seven in Dublin. Deaths number two in the ZIP for Elizabethtown and White Lake, and one each in Dublin, Bladenboro, Tar Heel, White Oak and Kelly. The other three are not linked to a ZIP code unique to Bladen County.

The numbers do not match the state’s county total because not all communities are represented.

Wednesday’s totals from the state included:

• 2,779 deaths, up 38 from Tuesday’s noon report. Eighteen were in congregate living settings.

• 170,553 cases, up 1,129.

• 858 hospitalized, down 88.

• 2,315,310 tests, up 19,612.

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 to Bladen, there have been 205 deaths and 11,320 cases. Cumberland has 67 deaths and 4,167 cases; Robeson has 61 deaths and 3,625 cases; Columbus has 52 deaths and 1,128 cases; Sampson has 21 deaths and 1,627 cases; and Pender has four deaths and 773 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 1,408 deaths and 17,188 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 190 nursing homes, 103 residential care facilities, 45 correctional institutions and eight other facilities. Of those, nine are in Cumberland, two each in Sampson and Columbus, and one each in Bladen, Robeson and Pender.

Cumberland also has two clusters, and Bladen and Sampson have one each.

With 92 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 72 percent of the ventilators, 27 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 31 percent of all hospital beds.

In the personal protective equipment category, the supply of gloves is at a 99 days supply; all other categories are at least nine months.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state’s three largest cities and account for 45 percent of the deaths (1,251) and 50.7 percent of the cases (86,404).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 298 deaths and 25,703 positive cases, Gaston County has 66 deaths and 4,149 cases, Rowan County has 68 deaths and 2,853 cases, Cabarrus County has 54 deaths and 3,255 cases, and Union County has 51 deaths and 4,036 cases — a total of 537 deaths and 39,996 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 202 deaths and 15,297 cases, Durham County has 84 deaths and 6,968 cases, Johnston County has 52 deaths and 3,883 cases, and Orange County has 50 deaths and 2,323 cases — a total of 388 deaths and 28,471 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 170 deaths and 7,013 cases, Forsyth County has 80 deaths and 6,266 cases, Randolph County has 44 deaths and 2,438 cases, and Davidson County has 32 deaths and 2,220 cases — a total of 326 deaths and 17,937 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 6.1 million confirmed cases and 185,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in Brazil, with more than 3.9 million.

There are more than 25.8 million cases worldwide, with more than 859,000 deaths.