Hospitalizations top 1,000 as NC reports second-highest single-day case increase

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported hospitalizations over 1,000 for the first time since the start of the pandemic -- meaning the state has reached another new record high in that metric.

The health department reported Thursday morning that 1,034 people were in the hospital with COVID-19, with 86% of hospitals reporting. That’s up 40 from Wednesday.

There are still 3,967 inpatient beds and 494 ICU beds available across the state.

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The state also saw its second-highest single-day increase of lab-confirmed cases, with 2,039 reported. The single-day record in the state was 2,099 on July 3.

20 more deaths were reported, bringing the total to 1,461.

21,286 tests were reported as completed on Thursday. The percent positive has remained at 9% over the last few days.

The numbers we show you every day mean everything in how our community recovers from coronavirus -- both in terms of healthcare and the economy -- but they don’t mean much without the proper context and as much transparency as possible.

New cases vary day by day based on a lot of factors. That can include how long it takes to get results back, so a new case reported today can really be several days old. The 7-day average for cases is about 1,600.

The other big metric we watch is the percent of positive cases. This is data we can only get from the state because it’s not as simple as factoring a percent of new cases each day from the number of tests. That’s because test results take days and come from a variety of places.

Today the state reported 9%, but the rolling average is closer to 10%.

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THURSDAY MORNING STORYLINES:

A North Carolina judge has refused to delay enforcement of his ruling allowing dozen of bowling alleys to reopen in contradiction to Gov. Roy Cooper’s COVID-19 executive order.

On Wednesday, Judge James Gale denied the request from attorneys for the state representing Cooper in a lawsuit filed by an association of bowling lane operators. Now, Department of Justice lawyers are asking the state Supreme Court to intervene.

Gale decided the association was likely to win on arguments that Cooper’s order wrongly treated them differently compared to businesses with similar virus-risk levels allowed to reopen. Bars and gyms remain closed.

The North Carolina General Assembly has again fallen short in overriding several of Cooper’s vetoes. Wednesday’s unsuccessful votes for the GOP mean directives within the governor’s COVID-19 executive orders that keep many businesses closed remain intact.

Cooper will hold a media briefing at 2 p.m. with an update on the state’s response. You can watch that live on Channel 9 and on the WSOC mobile app.

The number of COVID-19 cases worldwide has now surpassed 12 million. On Tuesday, the U.S. reported 60,000 new cases over 24 hours.

Layoffs stuck at high level as 1.3 million seek jobless aid

More than 1.3 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a historically high pace that shows that many employers are still laying people off in the face of a resurgent coronavirus.

The persistently elevated level of layoffs are occurring as a spike in virus cases has forced six states to reverse their move to reopen businesses. Those six -- Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan and Texas -- make up one-third of the U.S. economy. Fifteen other states have suspended their re-openings. Collectively, the pullback has stalled a tentative recovery in the job market and is likely triggering additional layoffs.

Thursday’s report from the Labor Department showed that the number of applications for unemployment aid fell from 1.4 million in the previous week. The figure has now topped 1 million for 16 straight weeks. Before the pandemic, the record high for weekly unemployment applications was fewer than 700,000.

The total number of people who are receiving jobless benefits dropped 700,000 to 18 million. That suggests that some companies are continuing to rehire workers.

An additional 1 million people sought benefits last week under a separate program for self-employed and gig workers that has made them eligible for aid for the first time. These figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal variations, so the government doesn’t include them in the official count.

Americans are seeking unemployment aid against the backdrop of a disturbing surge in confirmed viral cases, with increases reported in 38 states. Case counts have especially accelerated in four states that now account for more than half of reported new U.S. cases: Arizona, California, Florida and Texas.

The intensifying outbreaks and more stringent government restrictions have slowed economic activity in much of the country and may be weighing on hiring. The government’s jobs report for June showed a solid gain of 4.8 million jobs and an unemployment rate that fell to 11.1% from 13.3%.

Yet even so, the economy has regained only about one-third of the jobs that vanished in March and April. And the June jobs report reflected surveys of Americans that were conducted in the middle of that month -- before the pandemic flared up again.

More recent data are worrisome. Spending on credit and debit cards issued by Bank of America fell in the week that ended June 27 compared with the previous week. Auto and existing-home sales have slowed.

Restaurant visits have also leveled off nationally, including in states that haven't begun to close down again, according to data from OpenTable, the reservations website.

“This suggests that renewed fears about the virus, rather than government restrictions, are driving the pullback in activity,” said Andrew Hunter, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, a forecasting firm.

Masks now required in Mecklenburg County parks; stricter rules approved Masks now required in Mecklenburg County parks; stricter rules approved

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