RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — As North Carolina reached 1.5 million total cases of COVID-19, some key indicators continued to level off.
The state Department of Health and Human Services on Friday said just over 4,000 new cases were reported over the past two days, and the count of patients in hospitals remained flat at just under 1,100 for the second day in a row.
NCDHHS also made an addition to its dashboard, saying 61 percent of all North Carolinians age 5 and older — in other words, everyone who is eligible to get the vaccine — have gotten at least one dose.
The state said nearly 42,000 kids between 5 and 11 have gotten their first dose so far — an increase of more than 17,000 since the last update Wednesday.
NCDHHS has reported 1,501,801 total cases since March 2, 2020. The numbers that had been dropping quickly since mid-September have plateaued in North Carolina — just as they have around the nation — with experts concerned that the leveling trend is a prelude to another winter spike.
Because of the Veterans Day holiday Thursday, NCDHHS reported two days worth of numbers Friday. There were 1,926 new cases reported Friday, and that kept the seven-day average at slightly over 1,700 cases per day for the third day in a row. That daily average has been in the high 1,600s or the low 1,700s for more than a week.
The same trend is showing up in the hospitalized patient count, which held steady at 1,082 for two consecutive days and has been in the high 1,000s or the low 1,100s for the past week. NCDHHS reported 40 deaths over the past 48 hours, bringing the total to 18,411.
Joedy McCreary will update this story with dose counts when they become available.
VACCINE DOSE COUNT
- 22,222 first doses
- 1,136 one-shot
- J&J doses31,055 total doses
