NC sees highest daily total of COVID-19 cases since start of pandemic

RALEIGH, N.C. — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced a record number of new COVID-19 cases in the state.

On Thursday, state health officials announced 24,292 new COVID-19 cases, more than 3,500 new cases than the day before and the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.

With 95% of hospitals reporting, Thursday’s data included 3,293 people currently hospitalized. That’s the highest number since Sept. 23.

Thursday’s data show a 30.1% positivity rate, only down slightly from Wednesday’s 31.8% positivity rate.

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On Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper and NCDHHS Secretary Kody Kinsley warned that cases were surging across the state and that everybody should get vaccinated and boosted.

Health leaders said vaccinated people who catch COVID-19 experience less severe symptoms and rarely need to be hospitalized for treatment. However, people who are unvaccinated or have underlying medical conditions are at the highest risk of severe illness and hospitalization.

59% of North Carolina’s population is fully vaccinated.

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Pediatric hospitalizations have increased from 1% of all cases to 1.8% of all cases. These are children too young to be eligible to get vaccinated, according to the NCDHHS.

The new data comes as the demand for COVID-19 testing has skyrocketed after the 2021 holiday season. Channel 9 has seen lines that have stretched for hours at several Charlotte clinics while people have waited to be tested.

Tensions reached a boiling point for some neighbors Wednesday as a StarMed location in south Charlotte saw two incidents involving guns. Channel 9 spoke with the two men involved in one of the disputes who said their confrontation happened because of frustration over the long line of cars snaking through a nearby neighborhood.

(WATCH BELOW: StarMed bringing in off-duty officers at COVID testing sites as tensions build)