Coronavirus: Bladen County fatalities increase by two; cases, recoveries each up by 14

ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County has recorded two coronavirus fatalities, and each showed up in the postal ZIP code for Elizabethtown and White Lake.

The state Department of Health and Human Services and the county Health Department revealed the information in their daily updates Tuesday. There were also 14 new cases and 14 recoveries logged. Hospitalizations are up to 14.

In January reports, Bladen County has logged eight deaths, 652 cases and 554 recoveries. Since the pandemic began, there have been 32 deaths, 2,495 cases and 2,167 recoveries.

In the evening report on clusters and outbreaks from DHHS, the outbreak report included Elizabethtown Health and Rehab. The facility now lists one death and five cases among residents, and 16 cases among staff. Also on the outbreak report is West Bladen Assisted Living, which remains listed with seven cases among staff.

No Bladen County entities are on the cluster report.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 826 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 609 in Bladenboro; 336 in Clarkton; 289 in East Arcadia; 136 in White Oak; 121 in Tar Heel; 69 in Council; 48 in Kelly; and 27 in Dublin.

There are 15 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been four in Bladenboro; three in 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:

• 8,776 deaths, up 56 from Monday’s noon report.

• 727,423 cases, up 3,978.

• 3,368 hospitalized, up 81.

• 8,533,507 tests, up 33,028.

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 38 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 22 percent, 18-24 has 11 percent, 17-and-under has 12 percent, 65-74 has 10 percent and 75-or-older has 6 percent. Ages for 21 of 30 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 11 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 14 percent and 25-49 has 4 percent.

In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 580 deaths and 46,975 cases. Cumberland has 178 deaths and 19,190 cases; Robeson has 177 deaths and 12,927 cases; Columbus has 107 deaths and 4,903 cases; Sampson has 79 deaths and 5,960 cases; and Pender has 39 deaths and 3,995 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 4,025 deaths and 57,130 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 361 nursing homes, 334 residential care facilities, 72 correctional institutions and three other facilities. Of those, 18 are in Cumberland, 14 in Robeson, eight in Columbus, four in Sampson, three in Pender, and two in Bladen.

Cumberland has four clusters.

With 95 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 65 percent of the ventilators, 17 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 (3,343) and 46.1 percent of the cases (335,109).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 724 deaths and 83,157 positive cases, Gaston County has 312 deaths and 20,750 cases, Rowan County has 238 deaths and 12,476 cases, Cabarrus County has 187 deaths and 15,442 cases, and Union County has 140 deaths and 17,603 cases — a total of 1,601 deaths and 149,428 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 413 deaths and 61,930 cases, Durham County has 169 deaths and 18,675 cases, Johnston County has 146 deaths and 14,944 cases, and Orange County has 80 deaths and 6,440 cases — a total of 808 deaths and 101,989 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 377 deaths and 33,578 cases, Forsyth County has 275 deaths and 26,819 cases, Randolph County has 167 deaths and 10,865 cases, and Davidson County has 115 deaths and 12,430 cases — a total of 934 deaths and 83,692 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 25.3 million confirmed cases and 422,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 10.6 million.

There have been more than 99.9 million cases worldwide, with more than 2.1 million deaths.