RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina public health officials are reporting their highest count of new COVID-19 cases in three weeks.
The 2,392 new cases added Thursday by the state Department of Health and Human Services were the most since Oct. 28.
NCDHHS also reported another 48 deaths, said the count of patients in hospitals remained relatively flat with 1,048 and reported a one-point uptick in the percentage of North Carolinians who are at least partially vaccinated.
Cases have begun to climb again in more than half of U.S. states, fueling concerns about the possibility of yet another surge with Thanksgiving a week away and the potential for spread — particularly among the unvaccinated — in indoor gatherings.
The daily count of new cases was its highest in the state since there were 2,493 exactly three weeks ago. It was enough to push the seven-day average to 1,800 — the highest it’s been since Nov. 3.
The preliminary count of hospitalized patients was a net drop of one from Wednesday, marking the ninth straight day it has been between 1,000 and 1,100.
NCDHHS says 61 percent of the state’s population of 10.4 million have had at least one shot, an increase that is in large part to the 82,413 children between 5 and 11 years old who have gotten their first shot in the two weeks since they became eligible.
That total represents a one-day increase of 6,017 — and two-thirds of the more than 9,000 first doses added Thursday to the state’s total.
VACCINE DOSE COUNT
9,166 first doses
681 single-shot J&J doses
13,151 total doses