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Beaufort County had a total 480 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of Friday, an increase of 12 overnight. There are currently 117 active cases in the county and seven people are hospitalized, according to the Friday update from Beaufort County Emergency Services and Beaufort County Health Department.

According to the update, 354 of those positive cases have recovered from the virus; nine have died; seven of those in the past week.

Contact tracing of the known, confirmed cases has concluded:

• 191 cases have been attributed to direct contact with another known positive case;
• two cases were related to travel to a known outbreak area;
• 75 cases are attributed to community spread;
• 212 cases are still under investigation.
• All active cases are self-isolating, the update reads.

The total number of cases that have been confirmed in the U.S. rose from 5,236,599 Thursday to 5,292,711 Friday; these numbers include 1,774,648 people in the U.S. presumed recovered from COVID-19. The U.S. has the highest total number of cases worldwide; worldwide, there have been 21,025,016 confirmed cases. Nationwide, 168,154 deaths have been attributed to the virus, an increase of 1,404 overnight.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina continued to rise from 141,564 Thursday to 142,170 Friday. There have been 2,313 deaths in the state attributed to the virus. The state currently has 1,049 COVID-19 associated hospitalizations and 116,969 people are presumed recovered from the virus in North Carolina.

“Sixty-four of our total positives were asymptomatic at the time of their test,” the update reads.

Eastern North Carolina counties total COVID-19 cases as of Friday numbered (does not include number of recovered): Bertie (299), Beaufort (480), Bladen (640), Brunswick (1,293), Carteret (369), Camden (76), Chowan (162), Columbus (961), Craven (758), Currituck (78); Dare (211), Duplin (2,019), Edgecombe (709), Gates (49), Greene (338), Halifax (747), Hertford (375), Hyde (51), Jones (99), Lenoir (613), Martin (273), New Hanover (2,666), Northampton (314), Onslow (1,178), Pamlico (73), Pasquotank (436), Pender (676), Perquimans (92), Pitt (2,205), Sampson (1,504), Tyrrell (100), Washington (137), Wayne (2,485) and Wilson (1,536). Durham (6,330), Mecklenburg (22,850) and Wake (12,508) counties have the most cases in North Carolina.

There had been 5,478 tests completed in Beaufort County as of Friday, with 4,789 negatives, 453 positives and 236 pending. These are cumulative numbers and include tests performed at the health department and reporting private medical facilities through the county. Nine of Beaufort County’s cases were tested in other counties but are Beaufort County residents.

“There were approximately 1,000 tests completed in Beaufort County last week,” the update says.

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