Coronavirus: December already worst month for Bladen County, with two weeks to go

ELIZABETHTOWN — December is now on record as the worst month for coronavirus cases in Bladen County.

Cases outpaced recoveries Friday in Bladen County statistics logged by its Health Department. There were 19 cases added and 18 recoveries, climbing to 191 active with four people still hospitalized. Since the pandemic began, there have been 1,630 cases and 1,416 recoveries. Twenty-three have died.

At 287 cases, December now stands significantly clear of June’s 271 with another two weeks to go. The four fatalities are second to the five recorded in August.

There was change in the twice-a-week outbreaks and clusters report from the Department of Health and Human Services. In outbreaks, defined as two or more at congregate living settings, Elizabethtown Health and Rehab now counts five cases among staff and none among residents.

In clusters, defined as five or more in child care centers or schools, Emereau: Bladen Charter School remains listed with 14 cases among staff and eight among children. The school ended the first semester Nov. 24 and doesn’t begin the second semester until Jan. 4.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 543 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 335 in Bladenboro; 188 in Clarkton; 176 in East Arcadia; 100 in White Oak; 88 in Tar Heel; 40 in Council; 36 in Kelly; and 16 in Dublin.

There are 10 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been three each in Bladenboro and East Arcadia, two in Dublin, and one each in Tar Heel, Clarkton, Council, White Oak and Kelly.

Friday’s totals from the state included:

• 6,125 deaths, up 60 from Thursday’s noon report.

• 466,104 cases, up 8,444.

• 2,824 hospitalized, up 20.

• 6,231,842 tests, up 82,197.

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 21 deaths are suppressed; two are ages 75-and-older and one is ages 25-49. The latest two deaths logged this week are not included yet.

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 402 deaths and 30,655 cases. Cumberland has 131 deaths and 12,050 cases; Robeson has 115 deaths and 8,645 cases; Columbus has 78 deaths and 3,162 cases; Sampson has 57 deaths and 4,396 cases; and Pender has 21 deaths and 2,402 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 3,024 deaths and 42,718 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 306 nursing homes, 197 residential care facilities, 55 correctional institutions and six other facilities. Of those, 10 are in Cumberland, seven in Robeson, three each in Sampson, Columbus and Pender, and one in Bladen.

Bladen and Cumberland have one cluster each.

With 95 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 68 percent of the ventilators, 17 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 22 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 38.2 percent of the deaths (2,341) and 45.8 percent of the cases (213,481).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 499 deaths and 54,463 positive cases, Gaston County has 204 deaths and 13,237 cases, Rowan County has 154 deaths and 7,593 cases, Cabarrus County has 120 deaths and 9,371 cases, and Union County has 88 deaths and 10,401 cases — a total of 1,065 deaths and 95,065 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 333 deaths and 37,328 cases, Durham County has 129 deaths and 13,323 cases, Johnston County has 90 deaths and 9,841 cases, and Orange County has 62 deaths and 4,593 cases — a total of 614 deaths and 65,085 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 291 deaths and 21,420 cases, Forsyth County has 197 deaths and 17,734 cases, Randolph County has 107 deaths and 6,995 cases, and Davidson County has 67 deaths and 7,182 cases — a total of 662 deaths and 53,331 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 17.4 million confirmed cases and 313,000 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 75.5 million cases worldwide, with more than 1.6 million deaths.