Coronavirus: Three dozen positive tests recorded this month so far

ELIZABETHTOWN — Almost through a week of December, the number of positive tests for COVID-19 in Bladen County is at three dozen.

Through Monday’s report from the state Department of Health and Human Services, the county has recorded 5,646 positive tests and 95 fatalities since the pandemic began. There had been 5,610 positive tests and the same number of deaths through the last report of November. Statewide, there are 1,202 people hospitalized; and 18,825 fatalities and 1,544,544 positive tests since the pandemic began.

False positive tests are included and not recalculated into the state or county numbers.

Community transmission of the coronavirus in Bladen County is high, according to Monday’s update from the CDC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website counted 62 active cases. There are no counties in the low transmission level, only one in the moderate, eight substantial, and 91 high. The period measured is Nov. 28 to Saturday for case rate, and Nov. 26 to Thursday for percent positivity.

Bladen County has 45.6 percent (14,926) of the total population fully vaccinated and 55.1 percent (18,045) partially vaccinated. Of those age 12 and up, the numbers climb to 52.2 percent and 63 percent, respectively.

With 93 percent of the state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 69 percent of the ventilators, 16 percent of the intensive care unit beds, and 19 percent of all hospital beds.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 1,785 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 1,609 in Bladenboro; 730 in Clarkton; 551 in East Arcadia; 315 in White Oak; 280 in Tar Heel; 137 in Council; and 122 in Kelly.

There are 34 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Bladenboro; 32 in Elizabethtown and White Lake; nine in East Arcadia; eight in Clarkton; five in Tar Heel; four in Council; three in White Oak; and one in Kelly. The Dublin ZIP code disappeared from the state report on Jan. 29.

In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 1,412 deaths and 104,840 cases. Cumberland has had 499 deaths and 48,042 cases; Robeson has had 441 deaths and 25,577 cases; Columbus has had 230 deaths and 10,351 cases; Sampson has had 140 deaths and 11,629 cases; and Pender has had 102 deaths and 9,241 cases.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state’s three largest cities and account for 36.7 percent of the deaths (6,900) and 45.3 percent of the cases (698,954) since the pandemic began.

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has had 1,285 deaths and 163,436 positive cases, Gaston County has had 633 deaths and 42,063 cases, Rowan County has had 479 deaths and 27,219 cases, Union County has had 368 deaths and 38,422 cases, Cabarrus County has had 351 deaths and 34,571 cases — a total of 3,116 deaths and 305,711 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has had 910 deaths and 135,484 cases, Johnston County has had 339 deaths and 33,838 cases, Durham County has had 266 deaths and 36,067 cases, and Orange County has had 110 deaths and 12,354 cases — a total of 1,625 deaths and 217,743 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has had 925 deaths and 71,076 cases, Forsyth County has had 585 deaths and 54,502 cases, Randolph County has had 330 deaths and 22,864 cases, and Davidson County has had 319 deaths and 27,058 cases — a total of 2,159 deaths and 175,500 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 49.1 million confirmed cases and 788,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 34.6 million.

There have been more than 266.1 million cases worldwide, with more than 5.2 million deaths.