ELIZABETHTOWN — Thirty coronavirus cases and 23 recoveries, a day after no increase in cases, were added to Bladen County’s totals on Tuesday.
It was the second time in five days that 30 or more cases were added at one time. Since recording 48 on Friday, the county had logged six, five and zero before this burst. For December, Bladen County has added 220 cases — just 24 short of the entire month of November, and 51 shy of June.
The county Health Department is counting 163 cases as active, including four people hospitalized. Since the pandemic began, there have been 1,563 cases and 1,379 recoveries. Twenty-one have died.
In the twice-a-week report on outbreaks and clusters, Elizabethtown Health and Rehab is still listed with one staff member and two residents on the outbreak list. Emereau: Bladen Charter School, which hasn’t had students on campus since Nov. 24, is listed on the cluster report with 14 staff and eight children.
The state Department of Health and Human Services postal ZIP code report lists 516 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 327 in Bladenboro; 177 in Clarkton; 173 in East Arcadia; 95 in White Oak; 85 in Tar Heel; 38 in Council; 33 in Kelly; 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 each in Dublin and Bladenboro, and one each in Tar Heel, Clarkton, Council, White Oak and Kelly.
Tuesday’s totals from the state included:
• 5,881 deaths, up 26 from Monday’s noon report.
• 446,601 cases, up 5,236.
• 2,735 hospitalized, up 182.
• 6,066,204 tests, up 50,173.
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 39 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 22 percent, 18-24 has 12 percent, 17-and-under has 12 percent, 65-74 has 9 percent and 75-or-older has 6 percent. Ages for 18 of the deaths are suppressed; two are ages 75-and-older and one is ages 25-49.
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 386 deaths and 29,514 cases. Cumberland has 126 deaths and 11,455 cases; Robeson has 114 deaths and 8,439 cases; Columbus has 74 deaths and 3,061 cases; Sampson has 53 deaths and 4,251 cases; and Pender has 19 deaths and 2,308 cases.
Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 2,926 deaths and 40,963 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 290 nursing homes, 180 residential care facilities, 54 correctional institutions and six other facilities. Of those, eight are in Cumberland, seven in Robeson, three each in Sampson, Columbus and Pender, and one in Bladen.
Bladen, Cumberland, Sampson and Columbus each are listed withone cluster.
With 97 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 70 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 38.6 percent of the deaths (2,270) and 45.9 percent of the cases (204,991).
In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 486 deaths and 52,432 positive cases, Gaston County has 196 deaths and 12,668 cases, Rowan County has 150 deaths and 7,238 cases, Cabarrus County has 120 deaths and 8,919 cases, and Union County has 86 deaths and 9,907 cases — a total of 1,038 deaths and 91,164 cases.
In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 323 deaths and 35,785 cases, Durham County has 128 deaths and 12,947 cases, Johnston County has 89 deaths and 9,413 cases, and Orange County has 62 deaths and 4,485 cases — a total of 602 deaths and 62,630 cases.
In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 276 deaths and 20,629 cases, Forsyth County has 189 deaths and 17,035 cases, Randolph County has 104 deaths and 6,714 cases, and Davidson County has 61 deaths and 6,819 cases — a total of 630 deaths and 51,197 cases.
According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 16.6 million confirmed cases and 303,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 9.9 million.
There have been more than 73.3 million cases worldwide, with more than 1.6 million deaths.