RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Public health officials are reporting more than 9,000 new COVID-19 cases in North Carolina — the most in more than three months.
The state Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday also said more than 2,100 people were hospitalized across the state and reported a massive daily percent positive for the second straight day.
The 9,377 new cases that came in mark the eighth-highest single-day total of the pandemic and the most since Sept. 11, when a data glitch caused a rise of more than 11,000 cases.
It came just over a week after NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said the state’s case count could exceed 10,000 per day due to the highly infectious omicron variant.
For the second straight day, the count of patients in hospitals climbed by more than 100, with the 2,122 hospitalized people marking an increase of 130. It’s the most patients in hospitals since Oct. 14 and the first time it’s exceeded 2,000 since Oct. 16.
NCDHHS says 17.3 percent of tests performed Monday came back positive — the second-highest that rate has been, trailing only the record 20.3 percent from a day earlier.
The 31 deaths reported brought the total to 19,339.
Two-thirds of everyone in the state who is eligible to get the vaccine — those 5 and older — have gotten at least one dose.
VACCINE DOSE COUNT:
6,883 first doses
6,769 second doses
737 single-shot J&J doses
38,598 booster doses
52,987 total doses
