Coronavirus in North Carolina: North Carolina reports 9,568 COVID-19 cases, 342 deaths

North Carolina reports 9,568 COVID-19 cases, 342 deaths

by: WNCN

Posted: Apr 28, 2020 / 11:37 AM EDT / Updated: Apr 28, 2020 / 11:37 AM EDT

FILE – This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. The sample was isolated from a patient in the U.S. On Tuesday, April 21, 2020, U.S. health regulators OK’d the first coronavirus test that allows people to collect their own sample at home, a new approach that could help expand testing options in most states. The sample will still have to be shipped for processing back to LabCorp, which operates diagnostic labs throughout the U.S. (NIAID-RML via AP)

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina’s number of coronavirus-related deaths increased by 36, bringing the total to 342, health officials announced Tuesday.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said the state has 9,568 confirmed cases. A total of 112,752 tests have been completed.

Hospitalizations moved up from 473 on Monday to 463 on Tuesday.

Mecklenburg County has 1,519 confirmed cases and 43 deaths. Wake County has 769 cases and 15 deaths.

A total of 86-percent of deaths associated with the virus are patients over the age of 65.

Of the confirmed cases, 40 percent are individuals ages 25-49.

On Thursday, Gov. Roy Cooper extended the state’s stay-at-home order until May 8. The next day, he announced public schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year.