Coronavirus: Bladen on pace for second-worst month thus far

ELIZABETHTOWN — After three days of double-digit increases in coronavirus cases, Bladen County has had three in single digits.

And the sum total is less than the day that led off the significant increase.

Five cases were added Tuesday, pushing to 1,276 the total since the pandemic began. It follows days of six and seven that were on the heels of a 20-11-14 spurt. November’s total is at 177 with six reports to go, already a figure higher than October, August, May and April. The pace would exceed July (192) and September (212) and be short of June (271).

No report was issued by the county Health Department on Tuesday. Recoveries were at 1,132 through Monday with one person hospitalized and 120 cases active.

In Tuesday evening’s bi-weekly report on outbreaks and clusters, Emerea: Bladen Charter School remained on the cluster list. It denotes three staff and two children. The state defines clusters as five or more cases at educational and child care facilities; outbreaks are two or more at congregational living settings.

The state Department of Health and Human Services postal ZIP code report lists 412 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 251 in Bladenboro; 156 in East Arcadia; 137 in Clarkton; 80 in White Oak; 74 in Tar Heel; 28 each in Kelly and Council; and 10 in Dublin.

There are nine fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Oak. There have been three in East Arcadia, two in Dublin, and one each in Bladenboro, Clarkton, Tar Heel, White Oak and Kelly.

Tuesday’s totals from the state included:

• 5,074 deaths, up 35 from Monday’s noon report.

• 342,294 cases, up 3,100.

• 1,724 hospitalized, up 123.

• 5,010,194 tests, up 44,630.

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 conditions, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

In Bladen County, the ages 25-49 category has had 40 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 23 percent, 18-24 has 12 percent, 17-and-under has 10 percent, 65-74 has 8 percent and 75-or-older has 7 percent. The age breakdown on 16 of the 19 deaths is now supressed by the state; previously, it was reported as ages 75-and-older has 63 percent, 65-74 has 21 percent, 50-64 has 11 percent and 25-49 has 5 percent.

Statewide, the ages 25-49 category has had 40 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 19 percent, 18-24 has 16 percent, 17-and-under has 10 percent, 65-74 has 8 percent and 75-or-older has 7 percent. Of the fatalities, ages 75-and-older has made up 59 percent, 65-74 has 23 percent, 50-64 has 14 percent and 25-49 has 4 percent.

In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 342 deaths and 23,955 cases. Cumberland has 111 deaths and 9,002 cases; Robeson has 108 deaths and 7,118 cases; Columbus has 70 deaths and 2,533 cases; Sampson has 36 deaths and 3,466 cases; and Pender has 17 deaths and 1,836 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 2,555 deaths and 34,765 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 236 nursing homes, 133 residential care facilities, 46 correctional institutions and 12 other facilities. Of those, seven are in Robeson, four each are in Cumberland and Sampson, and three in Columbus, and two in Pender.

Cumberland has three clusters, and Bladen, Sampson and Columbus each have one.

With 96 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 73 percent of the ventilators, 20 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 24 percent of all hospital beds.

In the personal protective equipment category, all categories are at least five months.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state’s three largest cities and account for 38.6 percent of the deaths (1,959) and 46 percent of the cases (157,292).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 435 deaths and 41,392 positive cases, Gaston County has 178 deaths and 9,701 cases, Rowan County has 126 deaths and 5,373 cases, Cabarrus County has 104 deaths and 6,524 cases, and Union County has 73 deaths and 7,387 cases — a total of 916 deaths and 70,377 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 286 deaths and 26,910 cases, Durham County has 109 deaths and 10,857 cases, Johnston County has 71 deaths and 7,252 cases, and Orange County has 61 deaths and 3,738 cases — a total of 527 deaths and 48,757 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 230 deaths and 15,702 cases, Forsyth County has 158 deaths and 12,394 cases, Randolph County has 77 deaths and 5,088 cases, and Davidson County has 51 deaths and 4,974 cases — a total of 516 deaths and 38,158 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 12.5 million confirmed cases and 257,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 9.1 million.

There are more than 59.6 million cases worldwide, with more than 1.4 million deaths.