North Carolina reports another record as COVID-19 hospitalizations top 3,500

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 6,487 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, for a total of 564,924 cases since the beginning of the pandemic.

As of Sunday, 13.6% of tests are positive statewide, which is more than doubling the state’s benchmark of 5%.

Currently, 3,576 people are hospitalized with COVID-19 statewide, an increase of 97 patients from Saturday.

Hospitalizations have remained above 3,000 since they topped the number for the first time Dec. 21 and have continued to increase.

In the past 24 hours, 363 confirmed COVID-19 patients have been admitted statewide.

The NCDHHS said 776 adult COVID-19 patients are in the ICU. Across the state, 424 ICU beds and 5,523 inpatient beds are available.

Since the pandemic began, the state is reporting a total of 6,910 people have died due to the virus.

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The NCDHHS started updating its COVID-19 dashboard to show the number of vaccinations in the state.

NCDHHS said there can be up to a 72-hour lag in data. As of Sunday, 63,571 people have received their first dose. No one has yet received the full series.

60% of those who have been vaccinated are between the ages of 25 and 49.

Currently, the state is in Phase 1a of the plan, which means health care workers fighting COVID-19 and long-term care staff and residents can be vaccinated.

The NCDHHS reported that 5,577 people in Mecklenburg County have received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

>> 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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[NC VACCINE PLAN: Everything you need to know]

[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.

Cox Media Group