RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – North Carolina health officials said there are now 297 cases of coronavirus across the state.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released their new figures early Monday, saying a total of 8,438 tests have been completed.
As of 10:30 a.m., Johnston County announced its fourth case of COVID-19.
Officials say they are continuing to see an increase in the number of individuals with symptoms of respiratory illnesses.
The N.C. State Laboratory of Public Health has performed 919 of those tests. The number of completed tests sat at 6,438 on Sunday.
NCDHHS said there are 79 cases in Mecklenburg County and 47 in Wake County.
While NCDHHS reported 46 cases in Wake County on Monday, the Wake County Department of Health said Sunday evening there 52 cases and 54 people are under investigation.
Wake County health officials said five patients have recovered.
The new numbers from NCDHHS come a day after Wake County announced sweeping new restrictions to stop the spread of the disease.
Wake County Board of Commissioners Chairman Greg Ford signed a new State of Emergency Declaration on Sunday that requires some types of businesses to close, prohibit gatherings of 50 people or more, change visitation practices at nursing homes and restrict the use of playground equipment at local parks.
The restrictions include:
- Closing fitness clubs, gyms, hair and nail salons, spas, tanning, massage, and tattoo salons, and other professional grooming services;
- Canceling mass gatherings of 50 or more people (which includes both staff and patrons). This does not include organizations that provide critical services like hospitals, government operations and financial institutions. It also excludes retailers that provide essentials goods like grocery stores, pharmacies, pet stores and hardware stores;
- Requiring nursing homes, long-term care facilities and assisted living centers to cease group activities that don’t allow for social distancing. Residents can only have one adult visitor per day, unless it is an end-of-life situation, and the visitor must be screened for:
- fever of 100.4-degrees or higher,
- a cough and
- difficulty breathing before they can enter the building;
- Prohibiting the use of playground equipment at public and private parks. This does not include backyard playgrounds or other amenities such as greenways and walking trails; and
- Recommendations that retail businesses screen their employees and customers for fever and respiratory illness before they enter the facility and turn away those who are sick.
Gov. Roy Cooper is scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. Mondy to address the state’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johns Hopkins University said there are 350,536 cases of COVID-19 across the world. A total of 15,329 deaths are attributed to the virus.
The University said 100,182 people have recovered.
COVID-19 timeline
- March 3: NCDHHS announces state’s first COVID-19 case
- March 10: Gov. Roy Cooper declares State of Emergency
- March 11: World Health Organization declares COVID-19 a pandemic
- March 13: President Donald Trump declares a National Emergency
- March 14: Cooper issues Executive Order 117 closing K-12 public schools until at least March 30 and banning gatherings of more than 100 people
- March 16: NCDHHS recommends no mass gatherings for more than 50 people
- March 17: Cooper issues Executive Order 118 limiting operations of restaurants and bars, and broadening unemployment insurance benefits