Three more people were added to the COVID-19-related casualty list in Craven County between Monday and Tuesday, making it one of the deadliest 24-hour periods since the pandemic started here in March 2020. The three deaths bring Craven County’s total death count to 87. No other details about the deaths are available. The Craven County Health Department stopped issuing daily COVID-19 updates on Dec. 31. For more New Bern Post COVID-19 coverage, go here. It is unknown when the individuals died, as was often the case previously, the day a death was reported sometimes was a day or many days after the actual death. ThreeRead More →

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The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced it has updated its vaccination plan to align with new federal recommendations. The changes simplify the vaccine process and continue the state’s commitment to first protect health care workers caring for patients with COVID-19, people who are at the highest risk of being hospitalized or dying, and those at high risk of exposure to COVID-19. For more New Bern Post COVID-19 coverage, go here. “While there is still much to do, we head into 2021 with a powerful tool to stop this pandemic– vaccines,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. “However, because supplies areRead More →

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The number of COVID-19 cases in Craven County increased by more than 300 since the last report from the Craven County Health Department on Dec. 31, 2020. The number is alarmingly high, but artificially so — somewhat. Dec. 31 was not only the last report, it was the last time Craven County Health will be issuing daily reports. The department is handing that off to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. For more New Bern Post COVID-19 coverage, go here. The number of cases reported at the county level has been trending lower than the number reported by the state. For consistency’sRead More →

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Craven County has 5,040 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 1 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020, ending the year at a sobering milestone, as well as breaking a new record: highest number of active cases so far. Craven County has 963 active cases and 26 hospitalized. There were 101 new cases between Wednesday and Thursday. For more New Bern Post COVID-19 coverage, go here. Meanwhile, 3,994 individuals have recovered or are presumed recovered based on guidelines set by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. The death toll ended the year at 83. Transmission As of January 1, 2021, the Craven County HealthRead More →

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CarolinaEast Medical Center reached its highest number of COVID-19 patients on Tuesday, with 42 beds occupied and forcing a third COVID ward to be opened. CarolinaEast set its record on the same day that Craven County itself set a record for residents hospitalized due to COVID-19, with 29 patients. CarolinaEast Medical Center is a regional facility that serves Craven and surrounding counties. Dr. Ronald May, CarolinaEast Vice President of Medical Affairs, said staff members are exhausted and this current spike is still stemming from the Thanksgiving holiday, WCTI News Channel 12 reported. May said he believes there is more to come. “We haven’t seen anyRead More →

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Craven County set a one-day record of 29 residents hospitalized for COVID-19-related reasons on Tuesday, Dec. 29, 2020. The previous record was 27 cases set on Oct. 15 and tied on Dec. 28. CarolinaEast Medical Center has 35 total COVID-19 cases and its ICU beds are at 80 percent capacity, according to New York Times tracking data. CarolinaEast has five remaining ICU beds available, according to the tracking data. Meanwhile the number of new cases in Craven County jumped by 86 between Monday and Tuesday, with one new death. It’s too early to tell whether the jump in cases over the last 24 hours isRead More →

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Craven County appears to be recovering from the effects of Thanksgiving Week COVID-19 exposure, and there is no sign yet of a widely expected Christmas Break spike. However, the number of Craven County residents who are hospitalized for COVID-19 tied a record set Oct. 15, 2020, at 27. This is unsurprising, in that hospitalizations tend to be on the trailing side of a spike. Alert status Craven County has been added to the Red status, for Critical, in the North Carolina County Alert System. Craven County’s 14-day case rate per 100,000 people was 993.7, and its 14-day percent positive COVID-19 testing rate was 11.9 percent.Read More →

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The Craven County Board of Commissioners approved a temporary suspension of Craven Area Rural Transit System (CARTS) fares from Jan. 1, 2021 through June 30, 2021. Fares will resume July 1, 2021. CARTS is the public transit system covering the rural counties of Craven, Jones, and Pamlico as well as the the New Bern urbanized area. Procedures and measures have been put into place to reduce potential COVID-19 exposure while riding CARTS. These efforts are made possible due to special funding for transit systems to respond to the current pandemic. These are unprecedented times for public transit and the suspension of fares is unprecedented forRead More →

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Craven County has been averaging about 80 new COVID-19 cases per day since Friday. It also added two virus-related deaths, bringing the county’s death toll to 82. But, on the bright side, you can get your cocktail to go or even have it delivered to your home, all in the name of containing the spread. (More) Go here for more New Bern Post COVID-19 coverage. Today’s New Bern Post update includes updates of all informational graphics, comparisons, and data collections, so if you’re into that kind of thing, you’ll want to check it out. Starting with deaths. Two unidentified Craven County residents have died fromRead More →

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COVID-19 numbers released Friday by the Craven County Department of Health show that the secondary-Thanksgiving spike is worsening at a higher rate than the primary Thanksgiving spike that started two weeks ago. Cases increased to 4,244 by 11:30 p.m. Thursday in Craven County, 109 more cases in the past 24 hours and the second highest 1-day increase, just behind yesterday’s record breaker. There were no new deaths, and hospitalizations only increased a bit. However, according to New York Times tracking, CarolinaEast Medical Center’s ICU is at 80 percent capacity, with 31 patients and only 5 remaining available beds. That compares to an average 82 percentRead More →

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