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North Carolina’s daily COVID-19 case counts are continuing to climb. After dipping as low as 55 cases reported on June 26, the daily case count inched back to 1,000, with 1,163 cases reported on Saturday.

As of Tuesday, 612 North Carolinians were hospitalized with COVID-19. 28% of those patients were in the ICU, and 11% were on a ventilator. North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said last Thursday that 99% of COVID-19-related hospitalization in North Carolina involved non-vaccinated people.

In Beaufort County, the COVID-19 case count has remained low recently. Statewide COVID-19 trends usually aren’t apparent in Beaufort County’s data until several weeks after those trends begin, so the county could see its metrics rise in the near future.

As of Tuesday, three Beaufort County residents were hospitalized with COVID-19 and one was on a ventilator. The county had reported eight reinfections (person tests positive again after recovering) and one breakthrough (person tests positive after completing vaccinations series).

Just under 45% of Beaufort County’s total population and approximately 55% of its adult population had been at least partially vaccinated as of Tuesday. About 12% of Beaufort County residents ages 12-17 had been at least partially vaccinated. The Pfizer vaccine is the only one approved for that age group.

To raise awareness about COVID-19 and its variants, vaccines and other topics, the Beaufort County Health Department is hosting “Eating with the Experts,” a series of free lunches during which people can talk with local health officials and experts about those issues. The lunches will be held from 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. at the following dates and locations:

·      Aug. 4: Snowden Elementary School cafeteria

·      Aug. 11: Chocowinity Middle School cafeteria

·      Aug. 18: The Wilkinson Center (Belhaven)

·      Aug. 25: St. John’s Church of Christ (Washington)

·      Sept. 1: Temple of Jesus Christ – Family Life Center (Washington)

For more information about those events, call 252-940-5090 or 252-946-6109