North Carolina surpassed 3,000 resident deaths caused by the coronavirus on Friday.
The latest reports from the state Department of Health and Human Services revealed the crossing of the benchmark, as it now lists 3,023 deaths caused by COVID-19 symptoms or complications. It comes as North Carolina’s coronavirus trends have largely stabilized, but not decreased.
The state reported its first coronavirus-related deaths on March 25 and reached the 100 mark by April 14. Spread among nursing homes caused hundreds of deaths by the time 1,000 were recorded in June. At the time, state officials said they were concerned about North Carolina’s trends and its record-setting hospitalizations amid the pandemic.
While the state has since seen a stabilization of trends, enough for Governor Roy Cooper to announce a move into Phase 2.5 of reopening last week, Friday’s crossing of 3,000 deaths represents how North Carolina still has not overcome the virus. It becomes the 17th state in the U.S. to cross the benchmark. A visit from White House coronavirus response coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx on Wednesday also saw her “lament” the lack of residents wearing masks, according to NCDHHS’ Dr. Mandy Cohen.
“We are simmering,” said Cohen at a press conference this week. “We have a high level of viral spread, and we need to get that down, so we can make progress in opening other businesses.”
According to The News & Observer, a federal government coronavirus task force sent reports to the nation’s governors this past week. North Carolina qualifies in the “red zone” for new cases, since it has more than 100 new cases for every 100,000 people.
Locally, Orange County is reporting 2,480 cases and 54 deaths, while Chatham County reports 1,562cases and 56 deaths since the pandemic began.
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