Raleigh, NC – The number of coronavirus-related deaths in North Carolina continues to rise, and the state on Thursday surpassed 9,000 deaths during the pandemic.
Another 131 deaths were recorded on Thursday, marking the sixth time in eight days that the state has exceeded 100. This period has become the deadliest for the state since the pandemic began last March, with 846 deaths since January 21.
At the beginning of the pandemic, the state did not register 846 deaths until almost three months ago.
“In the last week and a half, one of the days was the highest we had on deaths in our hospital during the entire pandemic,” said Dr. Brian Burrows, director of the emergency department at Duke Regional Hospital in Durham.
“The hardest part is seeing people who are not with their loved ones when they are on the last breath,” said Burrows. “Do you have people who are too sick to hold a iPad to talk to their families. “
In WakeMed in Raleigh, specialist in pulmonary and intensive care Dr. Sachin Patel said that death certificates are increasing.
“We will have a day when almost four people will pass – some of them older, some of them young enough to be our brothers and sisters,” said Patel.
Eighty-three percent of deaths so far have been people aged 65 and over. This group is now at the head of the vaccination line against the virus. Less than 4 percent of deaths occurred in people under 50.
Even so, said Burrows, the virus can reach unexpected people.
“When you see someone the same age as you are intubated for this virus, you know how ‘Oh my God’,” he said.
The number of new COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations has stabilized in the past few days, after the increase in early January, after holidays when many people ignored the advice of public health officials to avoid traveling and meeting with family and friends.
The 3,238 people being treated for the virus in North Carolina hospitals on Thursday were the smallest since December 27, and the seven-day average of 3,361 hospital patients with COVID-19 is the smallest since New Year’s Day.
About 7.9 percent of the coronavirus tests reported Thursday were positive, which is the lowest level in more than two months.
Another 6,490 new coronavirus cases were reported across the state on Thursday, but the continuous average of new seven-day cases dropped from 8,654 a day on January 12 to 5,843 a day now, marking the first time since January 1. that the average has been below 6,000 a day.
“It was predicted and, unfortunately, we were right: cases increased, hospitalizations increased and deaths also increased,” said Rachel Roper, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at East Carolina University.
Dr Shannon Carson, head of the Lung Diseases and Intensive Care division of the UNC School of Medicine, said that virus-related deaths are the final measure of the peak after infections and hospitalizations.
“After a week or two, they may need to be hospitalized,” said Carson, adding that someone could be transferred to an intensive care unit after four or five days in the hospital. “Almost 30 percent of them, if they reach the intensive care unit, will not survive hospitalization. “
“COVID cases, they can be in [hospitals] for weeks, and they can stay on the fans for weeks – and in some cases, I’ve heard of it for months – and then people can die a little more after being infected, “said Roper.
Patel said people need to understand how dangerous the virus can be.
“This is far from over,” he said. “We are really in the middle of it now, and it will get worse in March.”