Triangle COVID-19 report: Wake nursing home outbreaks continue to climb in NC

Jul. 22--Coronavirus cases in the Triangle continued to climb this week, and new data the state reported Tuesday show Wake County is a hotbed of nursing home outbreaks.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported Tuesday that Wake County had the second-highest number of ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks in the state behind Mecklenburg County's 39 -- the state's two largest counties.

There are 25 total outbreaks in Wake County, including 16 at nursing homes, eight at residential care facilities and one at a correctional facility.

DHHS declares an outbreak when a congregate living facility has two or more confirmed COVID-19 cases. DHHS also reported six outbreaks in Durham County and three in Orange County.

DHHS updates information on outbreaks in congregate living facilities twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Other data figures, including case counts, deaths and hospitalizations, are updated daily.

Coronavirus cases in North Carolina crossed 100,000 Monday, a grim milestone that experts say is only the beginning of the state's battle against the virus. Less than 10% of North Carolinians have contracted COVID-19, experts say.

COVID-19 cases in the Triangle

Here is a look at COVID-19 cases in Wake, Durham and Orange counties, as of July 22.

-- Cases and deaths. Wake County reported 9,252 cases and 99 total deaths. Durham County reported 5,220 total confirmed cases on Wednesday and 73 deaths. Orange County reported 1,127 cases and 45 deaths.

-- Percentage of positive tests. Durham County is seeing the highest percentage of positive tests in the Triangle, with about 10% of tests returning a positive result this week, according to the DHHS. Wake's positive cases are slightly lower -- 8%. So is Orange County's percentage at 6%.

-- Hospitalizations. Hospitals encompassing the Triangle and surrounding counties reported 360 COVID-19 hospitalizations Wednesday, DHHS reported. There are currently 246 ventilators and 671 ICU beds being used.

The number of people reported hospitalized with COVID-19 in North Carolina reached an all-time high this week of 1,179, the DHHS said. Wednesday was the 15th day in a row that hospitalizations exceeded 1,000, with 1,137 people in the hospital.

-- Noteworthy. People in their 20s, 30s and 40s reported the highest number of coronavirus cases across the Triangle, according to county data.

In an attempt to slow the spread, Raleigh and Orange County have implemented rules banning restaurants from serving alcohol late at night. The Orange County rule stops alcohol sales at 10 p.m.Raleigh's order, which begins Wednesday, stops those sales at 11 p.m.

Hispanic and Black communities continue to report more coronavirus cases per capita than other communities.

Hispanic people make up half of Durham County's COVID-19 cases and 44% of Wake County's. In Orange County, Black people made up 17% of cases even though they are only 11% of the county population. White people in Orange County account for 35% of cases but made up 74% of the population.

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