Coronavirus: Active cases total drops to 111, lowest since week before Thanksgiving

Alan Wooten, Bladen Journal, Elizabethtown, N.C.
·5 min read

Feb. 14—ELIZABETHTOWN — Active coronavirus cases on Sunday numbered 111, the lowest in Bladen County since before Thanksgiving about three months ago.

The Health Department in Bladen County said recoveries were up 52 over the past two days; it did not issue a report on Saturday. With only six cases added Sunday, the county has counted 38 deaths, 2,818 cases and 2,669 recoveries since the pandemic began.

Nine people are hospitalized.

Bladen County soared above 100 active cases when it went from 96 on Nov. 18 to 119 on Nov. 20; there was no county report released on the day in between. Since Nov. 18, the county has recorded 1,605 cases — or just shy of 57 percent of all the cases since the first was made known on April 2.

The three consecutive days in single digits for cases added is the first since Dec. 12-14.

The DHHS postal ZIP code report lists 955 cases in Elizabethtown and White Lake since the pandemic began; 685 in Bladenboro; 373 in Clarkton; 323 in East Arcadia; 146 in White Oak; 143 in Tar Heel; 78 in Council; and 59 in Kelly.

There are 20 fatalities listed for the ZIP in Elizabethtown and White Lake. There have been five in Bladenboro; three in East Arcadia; two each in Clarkton, Council and White Oak; and one each in Tar Heel and Kelly. One is not attached to a ZIP code unique to Bladen County. The Dublin ZIP code disappeared Jan. 29.

Sunday's totals from the state included:

—10,491 deaths, up 38 from Saturday's noon report.

—821,894 cases, up 3,170.

—1,989 hospitalized, down 112.

—9,623,364 tests, up 50,356.

For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough. But for others, especially older adults and people with existing health conditions, the highly contagious virus can cause severe symptoms and be fatal.

In Bladen County, the ages 25-49 category has had 38 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 22 percent, 18-24 has 11 percent, 17-and-under has 13 percent, 65-74 has 10 percent and 75-or-older has 6 percent. Ages for 22 of 35 deaths are suppressed; four are ages 75-and-older, three are ages 65-74, four are ages 50-64, and two are ages 25-49.

Statewide, the ages 25-49 category has had 39 percent of the cases, 50-64 has 20 percent, 18-24 has 14 percent, 17-and-under has 11 percent, 65-74 has 8 percent and 75-or-older has 7 percent. Of the fatalities, ages 75-and-older has made up 60 percent, 65-74 has 23 percent, 50-64 has 13 percent and 25-49 has 3 percent.

In adjacent counties to Bladen, there have been 701 deaths and 53,320 cases. Cumberland has 246 deaths and 22,788 cases; Robeson has 186 deaths and 14,118 cases; Columbus has 133 deaths and 5,569 cases; Sampson has 85 deaths and 6,426 cases; and Pender has 51 deaths and 4,419 cases.

Congregate living settings in North Carolina have totaled 4,748 deaths and 64,401 positive cases. Outbreaks have been identified and are active at 347 nursing homes, 321 residential care facilities, 84 correctional institutions and four other facilities. Of those, 19 are in Cumberland, 14 in Robeson, seven in Columbus, four each in Sampson and Pender, and three in Bladen.

Cumberland has six clusters, and Robeson and Columbus have one each.

With 95 percent of the state's hospitals reporting, DHHS says there is availability of 71 percent of the ventilators, 22 percent of the intensive care unit beds and 27 percent of all hospital beds.

In the personal protective equipment category, all categories are at least four months.

A combined 13 metropolitan counties have the state's three largest cities and account for 37.9 percent of the deaths (3,977) and 46.1 percent of the cases (378,599).

In the Charlotte area, Mecklenburg County has 815 deaths and 92,803 positive cases, Gaston County has 362 deaths and 22,773 cases, Rowan County has 265 deaths and 14,231 cases, Cabarrus County has 222 deaths and 17,542 cases, and Union County has 184 deaths and 19,733 cases — a total of 1,848 deaths and 167,082 cases.

In and near the Triangle area, Wake County has 512 deaths and 71,233 cases, Durham County has 190 deaths and 20,698 cases, Johnston County has 174 deaths and 17,001 cases, and Orange County has 90 deaths and 7,381 cases — a total of 966 deaths and 116,313 cases.

In the interior of the 12-county Piedmont Triad, Guilford County has 504 deaths and 38,163 cases, Forsyth County has 319 deaths and 30,423 cases, Randolph County has 193 deaths and 12,519 cases, and Davidson County has 147 deaths and 14,099 cases — a total of 1,163 deaths and 95,204 cases.

According to the coronavirus tracker of Johns Hopkins University, available on BladenJournal.com, more than 27.5 million confirmed cases and 484,000 deaths are counted in the U.S. The second-highest case total is in India, with more than 10.9 million.

There have been more than 108.6 million cases worldwide, with more than 2.3 million deaths.

Alan Wooten can be reached at 910-247-9132 or awooten@bladenjournal.com. Twitter: @alanwooten19.