RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina has more than 3,000 people in hospitals due to COVID-19 for the first time since the pandemic started.
Daily hospitalizations have increased by nearly 1,000 since the beginning of December, according to data from the state Department of Health and Human Services. On Dec. 1, there were 2,033 people in the hospital due to the virus.
DHHS reported 5,255 new cases statewide on Tuesday and more than 45,000 tests taken over the past day.
The seven-day average for new cases is at 6,043, the fifth day in a row that the average has been over the 6,000 mark.
The rate of tests returned positive on Sunday, the latest day for which data is available, was 11.1%. That brings the seven-day average of percent positive to 11.1%, a slight decreases from 11.2%.
State health officials have said a safe rate of percent positive is 5% or lower. North Carolina hasn't seen a positivity rate that low since Sept. 24.
The state reported an additional 51 deaths on Tuesday, bringing the total to 6,291.
Case and hospitalization data reported by DHHS is preliminary and subject to change upon further investigation.
