Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina continued to rise from 12,883 on Wednesday to 13,477 on Thursday. There have been 512 deaths in the state attributed to the virus, an increase of 27 overnight. There are currently 525 COVID-19 associated hospitalizations. According to Beaufort County Health Department Director Jim Madson, five of those hospitalizations have been Beaufort County COVID-19 cases; two of those cases have been on ventilators.

In Beaufort County, there were 23 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. Twenty-two of the 23 confirmed cases have recovered from COVID-19. Only one case remains active.

Six of Beaufort County’s positive cases were asymptomatic, meaning they experienced no symptoms.

The number of confirmed cases in the U.S. rose from 1,216,739 on Wednesday to 1,245,622 on Thursday; these numbers include the 189,910 people in the U.S. known to have recovered from COVID-19. The U.S. has the highest number of cases worldwide; worldwide, there have been 3,825,028 positive cases. Nationwide, 75,423 deaths have been attributed to the virus, an increase of 3,290 overnight.

North Carolina has confirmed cases in 99 counties.

Of Beaufort County’s total of 22 cases, contact tracing of these known, confirmed cases has concluded:

• seven cases have been attributed to direct contact with a known patient from another county;
• two cases were related to travel to a known outbreak area;
• 13 cases are attributed to community spread;
• one case is still under investigation.

All active cases are self-isolating, the update reads.

Eastern North Carolina counties with current cases include: Bertie (57), Beaufort (23), Bladen (45), Brunswick (50), Carteret (29), Camden (2), Chowan (7), Columbus (184), Craven (46), Currituck (7); Dare (18), Duplin (161), Edgecombe (137), Gates (10), Greene (33), Halifax (77), Hertford (46), Hyde (1), Jones (19), Lenoir (97), Martin (27), New Hanover (97), Northampton (102), Onslow (53), Pamlico (8), Pasquotank (39), Pender (20), Perquimans (14), Pitt (152), Sampson (126), Tyrrell (4), Washington (25), Wayne (688) and Wilson (186). Durham (818), Mecklenburg (1,922) and Wake (961) counties have the most cases in North Carolina.

There have been 401 tests completed in Beaufort County as of Thursday, with 376 negatives, 20 positives and 5 pending. These are cumulative numbers and include tests performed at the health department and reporting private medical facilities through the county.

The update reminded county residents to “practice the Three W’s:” wear face coverings, wait 6 feet apart and wash your hands often.