As the holidays arrive and families prepare to either travel or hunker down at home, the pandemic continues to spread across North Carolina. On Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced that more than 90% of counties are in the "red" and "orange" zones of the state's COVID-19 County Alert System.
In the last two weeks, the number of counties designated "red" has jumped from 48 to 65 and those in "orange" have increased to 27, a move which Gov. Cooper called "alarming." The "red" zone shows counties with critical community spread while "orange" zones show substantial community spread. Counties in the "yellow" display significant spread.
"The county alert map shows how quickly things can escalate," said Dr. Mandy Cohen, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary. "As you think about the upcoming Christmas and New Year holidays please avoid traveling and gathering. If you absolutely must, get tested ahead of time, wear a mask all the time, keep it small and keep it outdoors."
As was the case for Thanksgiving celebrations, Cooper and state health officials urged residents to follow guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and not travel for the holidays. The spike in cases across the state in the last few weeks, they said, is a result of community spread from Thanksgiving.
On Tuesday (December 22), North Carolina reported 5,255 new cases, after surpassing 8,400 on Friday. The state also hit a record number of hospitalizations with 3,001 patients currently being treated for COVID-19.
"This virus continues to spread quickly," said Cooper. "Don't get numb to these numbers. They have plateaued a bit over the last few weeks, but they are still too high. We have strong safety protocols in place right now, and we have to follow them."
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