Coronavirus: Hospitalizations drop significantly in North Carolina

ELIZABETHTOWN — The number of coronavirus hospitalizations in the state has dropped by nearly 13 percent in a 24-hour period.

The state Department of Health and Human Services’ daily report on Saturday listed 831 people hospitalized, down 124 from the Friday noon report.

Bladen County’s number of lab-confirmed cases rose by 14 on Saturday, climbing to 762 since the pandemic began. There have been 10 deaths.

The county Health Department, at time of this publishing, had not released an update in more than 46 hours. At its last update, 669 people had recovered from the virus and two were hospitalized.

The postal ZIP code report from the state Department of Health and Human Services lists 214 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 91 in Bladenboro; 73 in East Arcadia; 69 in Clarkton; 63 in White Oak; 52 in Tar Heel; 16 in Kelly; 14 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 ZIP numbers do not match the state’s county total because not all communities are represented.

Saturday’s totals from the state included:

• 2,889 deaths, up 50 from Friday’s noon report. There were 51 added to the congregate living settings total in that 24-hour span.

• 175,815 cases, up 1,561.

• 831 hospitalized, down 124.

• 2,410,871 tests, up 63,034.

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 209 deaths and 11,822 cases. Cumberland has 69 deaths and 4,386 cases; Robeson has 63 deaths and 3,808 cases; Columbus has 52 deaths and 1,177 cases; Sampson has 21 deaths and 1,659 cases; and Pender has four deaths and 792 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 1,494 deaths and 18,252 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 201 nursing homes, 102 residential care facilities, 43 correctional institutions and eight other facilities. Of those, eight are in Cumberland, two in Columbus, and one each in Bladen, Sampson, Robeson and Pender.

Sampson has one cluster.

With 82 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 73 percent of the ventilators, 25 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 28 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 44.5 percent of the deaths (1,287) and 50.2 percent of the cases (88,339).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 309 deaths and 26,128 positive cases, Gaston County has 66 deaths and 4,283 cases, Rowan County has 77 deaths and 2,911 cases, Cabarrus County has 55 deaths and 3,391 cases, and Union County has 52 deaths and 4,126 cases — a total of 559 deaths and 40,839 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 210 deaths and 15,655 cases, Durham County has 85 deaths and 7,101 cases, Johnston County has 52 deaths and 3,967 cases, and Orange County has 51 deaths and 2,399 cases — a total of 398 deaths and 29,122 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 171 deaths and 7,241 cases, Forsyth County has 82 deaths and 6,374 cases, Randolph County has 45 deaths and 2,486 cases, and Davidson County has 32 deaths and 2,277 cases — a total of 330 deaths and 18,378 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 6.2 million confirmed cases and 188,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in Brazil, with more than 4 million.

There are more than 26.6 million cases worldwide, with more than 876,000 deaths.