North Carolina, Facing Record Covid Case Numbers, Runs Into Testing Issues

U.S.|North Carolina faces a surge, but runs into investigating issues.

• Jan. 1, 2022, 5:29 p.m. ET

As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to substance a nationwide surge, North Carolina is seeing a drastic summation successful Covid-19 cases. The authorities has reported a 166 percent summation successful infections successful 2 weeks, according to a New York Times database, and immoderate counties are struggling to support up with investigating demands.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported that determination were 19,174 caller Covid-19 cases connected Friday — a grounds precocious for the 2nd consecutive day.

On Thursday, the section said successful a statement that it was the “highest one-day fig of Covid-19 cases” with 18,571, which was 60 percent higher than the erstwhile regular grounds of 11,581 acceptable successful January 2021 aft a vacation surge. The existent leap successful infections is astir apt driven by the highly transmittable Omicron variant, according to section reports.

True lawsuit numbers are apt to beryllium adjacent higher, though, since at-home tests are not reported by the state.

The section besides said that hospitalizations successful the authorities had astir doubled since the opening of December. The fig of radical visiting exigency rooms for “Covid-like illness” connected Thursday besides acceptable a grounds with 4,171 visits. The section added that 89 percent of radical successful intensive attraction for Covid-19 successful the authorities were unvaccinated.

According to a New York Times database, intensive attraction units successful North Carolina are 82 percent full. The mean I.C.U. occupancy complaint nationwide is 79 percent. Currently, only 57 percent of the authorities is afloat vaccinated, trailing the nationalist average, which is 62 percent.

On Thursday, the Wayne County Health Department announced that it had run retired of coronavirus tests and would person nary tests disposable “until further notice.”

“Demand for investigating has accrued importantly nationwide implicit the past 2 weeks, and further trial kits person been ordered from the state,” the section said. So far, the region has had the slowest emergence successful cases successful the state.

In New Hanover County, a investigating thrust connected Thursday had to extremity aboriginal due to the fact that the determination ran retired of tests, according to a connection from the county.

Wake County, wherever the regular lawsuit number seems to beryllium the highest successful the state, announced connected Saturday that though its investigating sites would beryllium open, there were nary disposable appointments until Monday. The region had doubled its Covid-19 investigating appointments to 13,000 regular slots past week “to assistance conscionable rapidly expanding assemblage needs,” according to a statement. But the summation failed to conscionable demand.

Universities successful the authorities are besides taking much precautions. Duke University volition person distant acquisition until Jan. 18, the assemblage announced connected Friday. Residence halls volition unfastened arsenic planned connected Sunday, but the assemblage is asking students to hold their instrumentality until acquisition resumes arsenic normal.

The University of North Carolina astatine Chapel Hill is recommending that students and professors get booster shots erstwhile eligible and said it would denote immoderate changes to on-campus operations by Monday.