Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Beaufort County numbered 1,172 Thursday. There are now 148 active cases in the county, and nine people are hospitalized, according to the Thursday update from Beaufort County Emergency Services and Beaufort County Health Department.

According to the update, 996 of the 1,172 total positive cases have recovered from the virus. Twenty-eight Beaufort County residents have died due to complications from the virus; 17 of those were residents of local nursing homes.

The total number of cases that have been confirmed in the U.S. rose from 7,525,255 Wednesday to 7,578,203 Thursday; these numbers include 2,999,895 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 36,337,110 confirmed cases. Nationwide, 212,286 deaths have been attributed to the virus, an increase of 881 overnight.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in North Carolina continued to rise from 222,969 Wednesday to 225,397 Thursday. There have been 3,722 deaths in the state attributed to the virus, an increase of 29 overnight. The state currently has 1,051 COVID-19 associated hospitalizations and 192,644 people are presumed recovered from the virus in North Carolina.

Eastern North Carolina counties total COVID-19 cases as of Wednesday numbered (with the exception of Beaufort County, these numbers were not update in the Thursday report): Bertie (634), Beaufort (1,147), Bladen (955), Brunswick (1,779), Carteret (817), Camden (125), Chowan (410), Columbus (1,460), Craven (1,864), Currituck (196); Dare (295), Duplin (2,523), Edgecombe (1,500), Gates (150), Greene (708), Halifax (1,110), Hertford (810), Hyde (145), Jones (161), Lenoir (1,079), Martin (524), New Hanover (4,547), Northampton (492), Onslow (2,451), Pamlico (278), Pasquotank (757), Pender (1,079), Perquimans (198), Pitt (5,281), Sampson (2,348), Tyrrell (117), Washington (261), Wayne (3,678) and Wilson (2,402). Guilford (9,301), Mecklenburg (29,829) and Wake (18,579) counties have the most cases in North Carolina.

There had been 16,507 tests completed in Beaufort County as of Thursday, with 1,172 positives. Since March, 66 COVID-19-related hospitalizations have occurred in the county.

Cumulative numbers 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 six feet apart and wash your hands often.