Coronavirus: Rising active cases quelled, barely; more than 100 have had both vaccine shots

ELIZABETHTOWN — Eight consecutive days with the number of active coronavirus cases rising has come to an end.

Barely.

There were five less Tuesday than Monday, but still 346 for Bladen County. Included are 14 people hospitalized.

Eleven cases and 16 recoveries were added on Tuesday. Since the pandemic began, there have been 26 deaths, 2,169 cases and 1,797 recoveries.

In the twice-a-week report on outbreaks, Elizabethtown Health and Rehab remains listed with 11 cases among staff and five among residents. No Bladen County child care or school facilities are on the cluster report.

In the state vaccination report, Bladen County has 102 people who have completed both doses and 355 who have received the first dose. The state total is 28,978 for both doses, and 190,195 for the first dose.

The Department of Health and Human Services postal ZIP code report lists 720 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 516 in Bladenboro; 290 in Clarkton; 226 in East Arcadia; 123 in White Oak; 107 in Tar Heel; 57 in Council; 43 in Kelly; and 24 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 each in Dublin, Clarkton and Council, and one each in Tar Heel, White Oak and Kelly. One is not attached to a ZIP code unique to Bladen County.

Tuesday’s totals from the state included:

• 7,638 deaths, up 60 from Monday’s noon report.

• 635,975 cases, up 6,851.

• 3,940 hospitalized, up 97.

• 7,669,546 tests, up 58,222.

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 21 percent, 18-24 has 12 percent, 17-and-under has 13 percent, 65-74 has 9 percent and 75-or-older has 6 percent. Ages for 17 of 26 deaths are suppressed; three are ages 75-and-older, two are ages 65-74, two are ages 50-64, and two are ages 25-49.

Statewide, the ages 25-49 category has had 39 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 20 percent, 18-24 has 14 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 60 percent, 65-74 has 23 percent, 50-64 has 13 percent and 25-49 has 4 percent.

In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 471 deaths and 40,784 cases. Cumberland has 147 deaths and 16,368 cases; Robeson has 142 deaths and 11,369 cases; Columbus has 90 deaths and 4,278 cases; Sampson has 69 deaths and 5,438 cases; and Pender has 23 deaths and 3,331 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 3,592 deaths and 51,416 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 345 nursing homes, 292 residential care facilities, 63 correctional institutions and four other facilities. Of those, 15 are in Cumberland, 13 in Robeson, five in Columbus, four in Sampson, three in Pender, and one in Bladen.

Cumberland has one cluster.

With 96 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 66 percent of the ventilators, 15 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 four months.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state’s three largest cities and account for 38.1 percent of the deaths (2,908) and 46 percent of the cases (292,802).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 635 deaths and 72,968 positive cases, Gaston County has 266 deaths and 18,415 cases, Rowan County has 192 deaths and 10,859 cases, Cabarrus County has 164 deaths and 13,444 cases, and Union County has 119 deaths and 15,191 cases — a total of 1,376 deaths and 130,877 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 373 deaths and 53,188 cases, Durham County has 145 deaths and 16,850 cases, Johnston County has 122 deaths and 13,302 cases, and Orange County has 68 deaths and 5,792 cases — a total of 708 deaths and 89,132 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 344 deaths and 29,125 cases, Forsyth County has 235 deaths and 23,660 cases, Randolph County has 147 deaths and 9,418 cases, and Davidson County has 98 deaths and 10,590 cases — a total of 824 deaths and 72,793 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 22.7 million confirmed cases and 379,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 10.4 million.

There have been more than 91.3 million cases worldwide, with more than 1.9 million deaths.