As of the above date, North Carolina had 11,694 cases of the Wuhan coronavirus. Of these, 422 had died. There were 475 still hospitalized. The number tested has risen to 143,875.
The state has 3,018 ventilators, of which 661 were in use for coronavirus or other medical uses on May 3.
The top seven counties in coronavirus deaths are not necessarily what would be expected on the basis of population alone. Here are the top seven:
Mecklenburg - 49
Guildford - 31
Rowan - 24
Durham - 22
Henderson - 21
Wake -19
Franklin - 19
My own county of Johnston, which borders Wake, had 14 deaths. Buncombe County has had only 4 deaths.
The population of North Carolina was estimated to be 10,448,000 on July 1, 2019.
Eighty-seven percent of 422 deaths in NC were age 65 or over. Approximately 16.1 percent of North Carolina’s population is 65 or over, numbering about 1,710,000 people. To put this in important perspective, the 367 people 65 or over killed by the coronavirus represents only 0.02 percent of that number.
Quarantining healthy older people would be incredibly stupid.
Fifty-seven percent of coronavirus deaths were male and 42 percent female and one percent unknown.
The most serious problem is in nursing homes and other resident care institutions. Of 422 coronavirus deaths in North Carolina, 198 have been in nursing homes, a whopping 47 percent. If we add 36 deaths in other adult resident care facilities, that bring the total to 234, or over 55 percent of the deaths.
Race and ethnic group show an over-representation of African-Americans , Hispanics, and “others “ not classified as white. African-Americans were 37 percent of the total coronavirus deaths versus 22 percent of the population. Hispanics numbered 19 percent of coronavirus deaths versus only 9 percent of the population. The “other” category was not defined but made up 7 percent of the deaths. This includes Asians, Native Americans, and probably mixed race, and those who declined to answer. Asians and Native Americans total about 5 percent of North Carolina’s population.
Most of these statistics were drawn from NCDHHS Covid-19 North Carolina dashboard.
These statistics and their possible remedies need to be weighed against significant economic, social, and other healthcare consequences affecting the people of North Carolina