The positive COVID-19 test rate continues to rise in Carteret County. PRE's Meredith Radford reports that the number of hospitalizations also continues to increase due to the Delta variant.
The Carteret County health director, Nina Oliver, said in an email that the percent positive COVID-19 test rate for last week was over 14%, surpassing the state’s percent positive rate of just over 13%. On Monday, the health department reported 261 active cases of COVID-19 in Carteret County. Three days later, that number had increased by more than one hundred cases. Currently, 22 people are hospitalized at Carteret Health Care for COVID-19. Newport has the largest number of active cases, at 111, followed by Morehead City with 81 and Beaufort with 58. 60 people have died due to COVID-19 in Carteret County since the pandemic began. For Public Radio East, I’m Meredith Radford.