We start this week with new numbers. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services continues to publish case counts, hospitalizations, and fatalities. As of the end of March, there were 1,498 cases (14 in Brunswick County, 28 in New Hanover County), 8 deaths, and 157 currently hospitalized. The increase in numbers is due both to the spread of new cases, but also expanded testing — the number of tests has jumped from hundreds to 23,106 completed tests.
The state has also started releasing more detailed info, including standing requests to the Federal Strategic Stockpile of coveralls, face shields, gloves, N95 masks, and procedure masks. New data includes available hospital beds, ICU beds, and ventilators. It also includes more specific demographics for cases, including age and gender. We’ll break some of that down.
Locally, we take a look at the local situation — including what stores are (and aren’t) doing to help promote social distancing. We also look at the particular cases of big-box hardware stares, which have been packed with people since Governor Roy Cooper announced a statewide ‘stay at home’ order.