RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina reported 997 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the fewest reported in a day and the first time the number has been under 1,000 since Sept. 29.
Over the last week, the state Department of Health and Human Services has reported an average of 1,785 new cases per day.
That seven-day average has decreased rapidly since it was a pandemic high of 8,654 on Jan. 12.
DHHS reported 1,147 statewide hospitalizations due to COVID-19, a slight increase from Monday’s count, but it’s the fourth consecutive day hospitalizations have been under 1,200.
Prior to Saturday, the hospitalization count was last under 1,200 on Nov. 8.
Among the tests reported Sunday, the latest day with available data, 5.2% returned positive.
Over the last week of available data, an average of 4.8% of tests returned positive per day.
It’s the second consecutive day that the average has been under 5%, a threshold state health officials have been wanting to meet for months.
The seven-day average from Saturday was the first time it was under 5% since DHHS started tracking percent positive rates.
The drop in new cases, hospitalizations and percent positive rates over the last few weeks has occurred as more than 1.1 million North Carolinians have been vaccinated from COVID-19 since the state began offering vaccinations in mid-December.
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