Coronavirus: Eleven more recover, 10 percent complete vaccination series

ELIZABETHTOWN — Eleven more people have recovered from COVID-19, and 10 percent of the population has completed the two-shot vaccination series in Bladen County.

The Health Department, in its daily update, said Tuesday there were seven cases added. The 46 active cases include five people hospitalized.

Since the pandemic began, Bladen has had 40 deaths, 2,948 cases and 2,862 recoveries.

Vaccination series are complete for 10 percent of the county and 8.2 percent of the state, the Department of Health and Human Services says. In the county, there have been 3,278 people to get the two-shot vaccination series, and 5,405 have received the first dose. Statewide, there have been 855,681 people to complete the series and 1,464,798 to get the first shot.

Tuesday’s update on outbreaks and clusters from DHHS included:

• Outbreaks: There was no change for Elizabethtown Health and Rehab, one resident death, five resident cases, 16 staff cases; there was no change for the Bladen County Detention Center, eight inmate cases, seven staff cases.

• Clusters: None.

The state defines outbreaks as two or more cases at congregate living settings, and clusters as five or more at child care facilities or schools.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 997 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 716 in Bladenboro; 390 in Clarkton; 331 in East Arcadia; 158 in White Oak; 155 in Tar Heel; 79 in Council; and 59 in Kelly.

There are 20 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been eight in Bladenboro; five in East Arcadia; three in Clarkton; two each in Council and White Oak; and one each in Tar Heel and Kelly. The Dublin ZIP code disappeared from the state report on Jan. 29.

Tuesday’s totals from the state included:

• 11,288 deaths, up 34 from Monday’s noon report.

• 863,409 cases, up 1,239.

• 1,353 hospitalized, up 34.

• 10,311,881 tests, up 20,399.

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 14 percent, 65-74 has 11 percent and 75-or-older has 6 percent. Ages for 24 of 40 deaths are suppressed; six are ages 75-and-older, three are ages 65-74, five 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 12 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 3 percent.

In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 777 deaths and 56,828 cases. Cumberland has 274 deaths and 24,190 cases; Robeson has 209 deaths and 15,241 cases; Columbus has 146 deaths and 5,861 cases; Sampson has 91 deaths and 6,844 cases; and Pender has 57 deaths and 4,692 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 5,074 deaths and 67,304 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 288 nursing homes, 220 residential care facilities, 82 correctional institutions and five other facilities. Of those, 15 are in Cumberland, 12 in Robeson, four each in Columbus and Pender, and three in Sampson, and two in Bladen.

Cumberland has four clusters, and Robeson and Columbus each have one.

With 97 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 74 percent of the ventilators, 24 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 three months.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state’s three largest cities and account for 37.4 percent of the deaths (4,231) and 46 percent of the cases (397,076).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 864 deaths and 97,203 positive cases, Gaston County has 377 deaths and 23,780 cases, Rowan County has 283 deaths and 14,928 cases, Cabarrus County has 236 deaths and 18,540 cases, and Union County has 198 deaths and 20,784 cases — a total of 1,958 deaths and 175,235 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 525 deaths and 74,696 cases, Durham County has 203 deaths and 21,585 cases, Johnston County has 194 deaths and 17,961 cases, and Orange County has 93 deaths and 7,753 cases — a total of 1,015 deaths and 121,995 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 553 deaths and 40,024 cases, Forsyth County has 345 deaths and 31,913 cases, Randolph County has 201 deaths and 13,262 cases, and Davidson County has 159 deaths and 14,647 cases — a total of 1,258 deaths and 99,846 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 28.7 million confirmed cases and 516,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 11.1 million.

There have been more than 114.7 million cases worldwide, with more than 2.5 million deaths.