Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on June 16
Cases top 45,000
"At least 45,906 people in North Carolina have
tested positive for the coronavirus and 1,169 have died, according to state and county health departments.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported an additional 751 cases of the virus Tuesday, down from 983 reported Monday.
Health officials on Tuesday reported completing 12,942 new tests for the virus, for a total of 651,421. About 9% have come back positive." ....
Hospitalizations reach new high
"At least 829
coronavirus patients were in North Carolina hospitals on Tuesday, the highest-ever one-day total reported in the state.
Tuesday’s total is up from the 797 hospitalizations reported the day before, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
“With 85 percent of the
state’s hospitals reporting, DHHS said 26% of the state’s hospital beds and 26% of the ICU beds were available,” The News & Observer reported Tuesday.
Tuesday’s count broke the previous record of 823 hospitalizations, which was set on Saturday."
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Meat-packing plant outbreaks
"Coronavirus cases and infection rates have increased more in areas of North Carolina with major
outbreaks at meat and poultry-packing plants, a News & Observer analysis of ZIP code data shows.
In 13 ZIP codes near plants with outbreaks,
cases increased by an average of nearly 600% between May 1 and June 11. The ZIP codes are in Burke, Chatham, Duplin, Lee, Robeson, Wayne and Wilkes counties. The number of cases statewide rose 262% during the same time frame." [red bolded text by me]
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