For a third consecutive day Sunday, Mecklenburg County reported at least 400 new COVID-19 cases. There were 417 new cases, for a total of 15,024 along with 159 deaths. Mecklenburg County continues to have more than double the number of cases as Wake County, which has the second highest number of coronavirus cases in the state with 7,447. Durham County has 4,449 cases.
After setting a new daily high for COVID-19 cases Saturday with 2,462, state health officials Sunday reported an additional 1,908 cases. It was the fourth straight day with at least 1,900 new cases in North Carolina.
The number of coronavirus-related hospitalizations declined by 23 from Saturday’s record high of 1093, but remains above 1000, at 1,070. There were 4 additional deaths reported for a total of 1,503. Just over 22,000 tests were conducted Saturday, with a positive rate of 10%, up from 9% the previous day.
After Saturday’s highest one-day number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, state health secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said, “Record-high numbers like today are concerning. We all have a responsibility to one another to wear a face covering, avoid crowds and wash our hands often to get our trends going back in the right direction.”
State health officials say they are responding to the COVID-19 pandemic on multiple fronts, including increased testing and contact tracing resources in communities and populations hit hardest by the virus. The health department is also contracting with two vendors to deploy up to 300 free testing sites for African American, LatinX/Hispanic and American Indian communities that have limited testing sites.