North Carolina health officials Monday reported another 1,268 coronavirus cases in the state, for a total of 101,046. An additional 8 deaths increased the total since the pandemic began to 1,642. North Carolina COVID-19 related hospitalizations have decreased over the past few days. After reaching a record high of 1,180 on Friday, the number has declined every day since then, with 29 fewer hospitalizations reported Monday, for a total of 1,086.
More than 26,000 COVID-19 tests were given on Sunday, as North Carolina continues to test substantially more than their goal of 5,000 to 7,000 people daily. The positive rate dropped to 7% Sunday, down from 8% the previous day. The goal is to get the rate below 5%.
Each week the state releases a report on the number of COVID-19 patients in the state presumed to be recovered. That number is now 78,707. To come up with that number, officials estimate a median recovery time of 14 days for those who were not hospitalized, and 28 days for those who were. Actual recovery times vary.
In South Carolina, cases continue to spike. 1,445 additional coronavirus cases reported Monday increased the state’s total to 71,213. There were another 9 deaths, for a total of 1,147. South Carolina’s positive test rate remains substantially higher than North Carolina’s, and was 17.7% Sunday.