The positive COVID-19 test rate for Carteret County has increased in the last few weeks. This increase echoes the statewide influx of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of July-- linked to the highly contagious Delta variant.
Carteret County’s public health director Nina Oliver said in an email that the positive COVID-19 test rate was 1.4% in the first week of July. It is now about 7 times higher, at 9.9 percent as of Friday. Oliver said there are 100 active cases of COVID-19 in the county, with 10 people in the hospital. 59 people have died due to the virus in Carteret County since the pandemic began. Data in a July 30th Carteret Department of Human Services report showed that 37% of COVID-19 cases occur in people between the ages of 25 and 49, and 24% occur in people between the ages of 50 and 64.