White House report returns NC to virus ‘red zone’ with 10th highest rate in country

WASHINGTON — North Carolina is in the red zone for COVID-19 cases, with the 10th-highest rate in the country, according to a new White House coronavirus report.

The report indicates there are 101 or more new cases per 100,000 people in the state.

Mecklenburg County, Wake County and Guilford County -- the three largest counties in the state -- represent 23.7% of new cases in the state, according to the report.

Ninety-six counties are reporting increases in infections and the state’s caseload is higher than the national average when it comes to cases per 100,000 people. All 100 counties have moderate or high levels of community transmission.

The report also notes Americans need to take more precautions “moving beyond what worked in the summer to more layered mitigation.”

This week’s reports raised concerns about “significant, continued deterioration from California across the Sunbelt and up into the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast” -- essentially, the entire continental US.

>> 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.

And as the nation lags in administering vaccinations, the task force emphasized the need to “put (vaccines) in arms now,” noting that “active and aggressive immunization in the face of this surge would save lives.”

Rhode Island is the state with the most new cases per 100,000 population this week, followed by Arizona, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Utah, California, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Arkansas and North Carolina in the top 10.

Oklahoma has the highest test positivity rate this week, over 25.1%, followed by Utah, Nevada, Virginia, Arizona, Idaho, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama and Texas, all of which have test positivity rates between 20.1% and 25.0%.

Arizona has the highest number of admissions per 100 available inpatient hospital beds, followed by Arkansas, Maryland, Georgia, Oklahoma, California, South Carolina, Kentucky, District of Columbia, and Alabama.

And Rhode Island ranks highest in new deaths per 100,000 population, followed by Rhode Island, Arizona, West Virginia, Tennessee, New Mexico, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, Kansas, Connecticut and Michigan.

>> READ NORTH CAROLINA’S FULL VACCINE PLAN HERE

NORTH CAROLINA SUMMARY:

• North Carolina is in the red zone for cases, indicating 101 or more new cases per 100,000 population, with the 10th highest rate in the country. North Carolina is in the red zone for test positivity, indicating a rate at or above 10.1%, with the 19th highest rate in the country.
• North Carolina has seen an increase in new cases and an increase in test positivity; 96 counties reported an increase in cases and 70 reported an increase in test positivity, most notably Camden, Clay, and Tyrell.
• The following three counties had the highest number of new cases over the last 3 weeks: 1. Mecklenburg County, 2. Wake County, and 3. Guilford County. These counties represent 23.7% of new cases in North Carolina.
• 100% of all counties in North Carolina have moderate or high levels of community transmission (yellow, orange, or red zones), with 91% having high levels of community transmission (red zone).
• During the week of Dec 28 - Jan 3, 37% of nursing homes had at least one new resident COVID-19 case, 61% had at least one new staff COVID-19 case, and 19% had at least one new resident COVID-19 death.
• North Carolina had 603 new cases per 100,000 population, compared to a national average of 532 per 100,000.
• Current staff deployed from the federal government as assets to support the state response are: 3 to support operations activities from FEMA; 7 to support operations activities from USCG; and 1 to support operations activities from VA.
• The federal government has supported surge testing in Guilford County.
• Between Jan 2 - Jan 8, on average, 439 patients with confirmed COVID-19 and 292 patients with suspected COVID-19 were reported as newly admitted each day to hospitals in North Carolina. This is an increase of 10% in total new COVID-19 hospital admissions.
• As of Jan 8, 649,150 vaccine doses have been distributed to North Carolina. 178,136 individuals have received the first dose.

White House task force warns some COVID-19 strains ‘may have evolved into a more transmissible virus’

(CNN) The White House coronavirus task force again suggested the existence of “more transmissible” strains of COVID-19 and a “much more rapid” spread of the virus in its weekly reports to states, stressing the importance of “aggressive mitigation.”

“This fall/winter surge has been at nearly twice the rate of rise of cases as the spring and summer surges. This acceleration and the epidemiologic data suggest the possibility that some strains of the US COVID-19 virus may have evolved into a more transmissible virus,” reports sent to states dated January 10 and obtained by CNN said.

The report continued, “Given that possibility, and the presence of the UK variant that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more transmissible, we must be ready for and mitigate a much more rapid transmission.”

Last week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shot down an item included in the January 3 task force state reports that suggested there was a homegrown “USA variant” of coronavirus, a misperception that began on a call with governors, an administration official told CNN.

But the official made it very clear US health officials have not determined that a US variant of the virus exists. There has been discussion about whether US health officials should investigate whether such a variant exists and make that identification but, so far, the official cautioned no such identification has occurred.

After the holiday season and unstable data reporting, the reports said that the US is now seeing “clear continuation of the pre-holiday high rate of spread as measured by rising test positivity, increased cases, increased hospitalization rates, and rising fatalities.”

There is “full resurgence” of viral spread in “nearly all metro areas,” the reports said, calling for “aggressive action.” The task force outlined measures including the use of masks that are “two or three ply and well-fitting,” “strict physical distancing” and more proactive testing of young adults.

South Carolina in ‘red zone’ for COVID-19, according to White House virus report

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