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NC COVID-19 hospitalizations hit another record high; percent positive at 10.5%

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported 4,372 new COVID-19 cases across the state -- the lowest total in several days. However, historically, Mondays have been underreported.

On Sunday, 6,438 new COVID-19 cases were reported -- the highest single-day increase so far since the pandemic began.

The percent positive rate in the state is at 10.5%, above the goal of 5%.

Hospitalizations totals set another record, with 2,240 people currently hospitalized across the state with COVID-19. That’s up 49 from Sunday.

In the past 24 hours, 274 confirmed COVID-19 patients have been admitted to hospitals. People over the age of 50 make up 79% of hospitalizations in the state.

Seventeen more deaths were reported on Monday, bringing the total in North Carolina since the start of the pandemic to 5,560.

>> Have questions about the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the Carolinas? We have an entire section dedicated to coverage of the outbreak -- CLICK HERE FOR MORE.

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[COUNTY-BY-COUNTY COVID-19 RESOURCE GUIDE]

[CORONAVIRUS IN THE CAROLINAS; HERE’S HOW TO STAY INFORMED]

Note: 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 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.