Coronavirus: Active cases in Bladen County lowest in four weeks

ELIZABETHTOWN — Bladen County’s active coronavirus cases dropped on Tuesday to its lowest figure in the calendar year.

At 225, it easily goes below the 251 recorded Jan. 3. The count was last below 200 on Dec. 30, when it was 191. Since a high of 385 on Jan. 19, the total has decreased in 11 of the last 14 reports and five consecutive.

The Health Department also said 13 people remain hospitalized. There were 48 recoveries and 12 cases added on Tuesday.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 34 deaths, 2,645 cases and 2,386 recoveries.

In the twice-a-week update on outbreaks and clusters from the Department of Health and Human Services, Bladen County continues to have two listings in outbreaks. Elizabethtown Health and Rehab is logged with 16 cases among staff, and one death and five cases among residents; West Bladen Assisted Living is recorded with seven cases among staff. There are no clusters.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 876 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 641 in Bladenboro; 353 in Clarkton; 308 in East Arcadia; 141 in White Oak; 133 in Tar Heel; 76 in Council; and 51 in Kelly.

There are 17 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been four in Bladenboro; three in East Arcadia; two each in 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. The Dublin ZIP code disappeared from the state report last week.

Tuesday’s totals from the state included:

• 9,409 deaths, up 67 from Monday’s noon report.

• 764,228 cases, up 2,926.

• 2,741 hospitalized, down 40.

• 8,937,769 tests, up 29,511.

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 12 percent, 17-and-under has 13 percent, 65-74 has 10 percent and 75-or-older has 6 percent. Ages for 24 of 34 deaths are suppressed; three are ages 75-and-older, two are ages 65-74, three 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 631 deaths and 49,527 cases. Cumberland has 207 deaths and 20,555 cases; Robeson has 181 deaths and 13,463 cases; Columbus has 115 deaths and 5,214 cases; Sampson has 80 deaths and 6,154 cases; and Pender has 48 deaths and 4,141 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 4,266 deaths and 60,299 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 366 nursing homes, 347 residential care facilities, 75 correctional institutions and three other facilities. Of those, 19 are in Cumberland, 13 in Robeson, seven in Columbus, four in Sampson, three in Pender, and two in Bladen.

Cumberland has four clusters and Columbus has one.

With 97 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 67 percent of the ventilators, 19 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 27 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 37.6 percent of the deaths (3,540) and 46.1 percent of the cases (352,209).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 766 deaths and 87,233 positive cases, Gaston County has 326 deaths and 21,577 cases, Rowan County has 247 deaths and 13,140 cases, Cabarrus County has 197 deaths and 16,120 cases, and Union County has 157 deaths and 18,422 cases — a total of 1,693 deaths and 156,492 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 427 deaths and 65,716 cases, Durham County has 178 deaths and 19,541 cases, Johnston County has 156 deaths and 15,563 cases, and Orange County has 82 deaths and 6,848 cases — a total of 843 deaths and 107,668 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 415 deaths and 35,355 cases, Forsyth County has 281 deaths and 28,001 cases, Randolph County has 181 deaths and 11,584 cases, and Davidson County has 127 deaths and 13,109 cases — a total of 1,004 deaths and 88,049 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 26.4 million confirmed cases and 446,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 10.7 million.

There have been more than 103.7 million cases worldwide, with more than 2.2 million deaths.