DHHS: COVID cases down, hospitalizations up this week
After eight weeks of rising COVID-19 cases, new coronavirus cases dropped this week by 7%, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Wastewater data also shows that coronavirus cases are dropping. Coronavirus particles decreased in North Carolina’s wastewater by nearly 5% this week.
Over the past month, the state has seen a steady increase in cases and COVID-19 particles in wastewater.
All metrics are looking up, except for coronavirus-related hospitalizations. The number of people admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 has risen by 14% this week when compared to last week.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services only releases metrics on COVID-19 spread weekly.
This data, which tracks the number of cases and COVID particles identified May 22 through 28, comes as thousands of North Carolinians traveled for Memorial Day weekend. The Washington Post reports that public health authorities are “bracing for Memorial Day gatherings to fuel another bump in cases, potentially seeding a summer surge.”
In the week ending on Wednesday, North Carolina had an average of 657 people hospitalized with COVID-19 each day, which is still relatively low when compared to the virus’ peak during this winter. However, is higher when compared to two months ago.
The number of people dying with COVID-19 is still far lower than what it was months ago during the omicron variant of COVID-19 in January. In the week ending on Wednesday, DHHS data said only 7 people died with COVID-19 — compared to 15 the week before.
Editors note — WRAL News previous stated in this article that cases were rising this week. That was based on dated information and was incorrect.
