NC April 15 COVID-19 update: 5,123 confirmed cases; Gov. Cooper holds coronavirus briefing

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announces a stay at home order for the entire state starting Monday, March 30, at 5 p.m. to help slow the spread of coronavirus, during a briefing Friday, March 27, 2020 at the State of North Carolina Emergency Operations Center in Raleigh. (Travis Long/The News & Observer via AP)

Posted: Apr 15, 2020 / 11:20 AM EDT

Updated: Apr 23, 2020 / 04:35 PM EDT

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN/WAVY) – The number of COVID-19 deaths in North Carolina continue to climb as state heath officials announced nine more on Wednesday.

In Governor Cooper’s briefing he discussed coronavirus testing, tracing and trends; the updated Stay At Home order; foodbanks that are still in need of food and pet food.

“Our new normal relies on an increase in testing capabilities to isolate and track new cases,” said Cooper. “This means having the lab capacity and supplies to do more diagnostic testing as well as reliable antibody testing that can tell us who has had the virus.”

“We have to boost our public health workforce to trace and track new cases. When a new case pops up, tracing efforts will identify people who’ve been in contact so they can get tested,” Cooper said. “NCDHHS will partner with universities & hospitals to get this job done.”

Reopening the state’s economy will be analyzed based on data and facts to determine how many restrictions are needed and if the state can ease into opening businesses back up, according to Governor Cooper during the briefing.

Orders to Stay At Home and limit occupancy in stores are in effect, as well as bans on large gatherings and closure of certain types of businesses that can’t practice social distancing. And I’m sure I don’t need to remind parents out there that schools are closed.
— Governor Roy Cooper (@NC_Governor) April 15, 2020

The total number of deaths now sits at 117, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

Wednesday’s numbers follow what was North Carolina’s deadliest day, with 22 deaths announced on Tuesday.

Hospitalizations are up to its highest number – 431. The number of hospitalizations had been trending down since April 10 until Tuesday, according to the NCDHHS.

Overall, North Carolina has 5,123 known positive cases across 93 counties.

Of those, 38 percent are ages 25-49 and 7 percent are 18-24. NCDHHS reports at least 1 percent of patients are under the age of 17. No one under the age of 25 has died in connection with the virus.

This is the current breakdown of confirmed cases in local counties: