Trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations in NC continues to rise

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,926 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday as the state’s 7-day trend line for the trajectory of new cases continues to rise.

The state reported 20,689 more completed tests on Wednesday, and a percent positive rate of 6.6%.

In September, that metric had been fluctuating between 4% and 6%, but in October it has jumped between 5% and 8%.

Currently, 1,152 people in North Carolina are hospitalized with COVID-19, with 97% of hospitals reporting. That is the highest number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state since Aug. 5.

The NCDHHS reported n Wednesday that 40 more people have died from COVID-19.

>> 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.

[WANT TO WATCH ON OUR STREAMING APPS? CLICK HERE]

[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