Coronavirus: Active cases rise to 173, recoveries to 1,248

ELIZABETHTOWN — Seven recoveries from the coronavirus and 14 more cases were logged Sunday in Bladen County on daily reports from the state Department of Health and Human Services and the county Health Department.

Bladen has 173 active cases, including five people hospitalized. There have been 1,248 recoveries and 1,441 cases since the pandemic began. Twenty have died.

The state’s number of cases rose by 6,438.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 477 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 292 in Bladenboro; 163 in East Arcadia; 151 in Clarkton; 87 in White Oak; 84 in Tar Heel; 31 in Kelly; 30 in Council; and 16 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 Tar Heel, Bladenboro, Clarkton, Council, White Oak and Kelly.

Sunday’s totals from the state included:

• 5,543 deaths, up 27 from Saturday’s noon report.

• 394,990 cases, up 6,438.

• 2,191 hospitalized, up 20.

• 5,585,824 tests, up 64,064.

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 11 percent, 65-74 has 9 percent and 75-or-older has 5 percent. Only 19 of the 20 deaths are in the data, and the age breakdown on 16 of them is now suppressed 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 20 percent, 18-24 has 15 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 376 deaths and 26,788 cases. Cumberland has 122 deaths and 10,211 cases; Robeson has 114 deaths and 7,767 cases; Columbus has 74 deaths and 2,883 cases; Sampson has 49 deaths and 3,915 cases; and Pender has 17 deaths and 2,012 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 2,779 deaths and 38,157 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 256 nursing homes, 154 residential care facilities, 46 correctional institutions and six other facilities. Of those, eight are in Robeson, five in Cumberland, three in Columbus, two each in Sampson and Pender, and one in Bladen.

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

With 95 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 71 percent of the ventilators, 18 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 38.4 percent of the deaths (2,131) and 45.9 percent of the cases (181,431).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 470 deaths and 46,983 positive cases, Gaston County has 188 deaths and 11,151 cases, Rowan County has 137 deaths and 6,301 cases, Cabarrus County has 110 deaths and 7,724 cases, and Union County has 76 deaths and 8,656 cases — a total of 981 deaths and 80,815 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 304 deaths and 31,640 cases, Durham County has 125 deaths and 11,867 cases, Johnston County has 78 deaths and 8,322 cases, and Orange County has 62 deaths and 4,132 cases — a total of 569 deaths and 55,961 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 259 deaths and 18,149 cases, Forsyth County has 173 deaths and 14,729 cases, Randolph County has 93 deaths and 5,882 cases, and Davidson County has 56 deaths and 5,895 cases — a total of 581 deaths and 44,655 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 14.7 million confirmed cases and 281,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 9.6 million.

There are more than 66.9 million cases worldwide, with more than 1.5 million deaths.