Raleigh, NC North Carolina reported a record 9,527 new cases of coronavirus on New Year’s Day.
This was followed on January 2 by another staggering total of 9,365.
The daily high followed on Jan. 1, followed by another large number on Saturday, brings North Carolina’s total number of confirmed coronavirus infections to 558,437.
The state also reported another 144 deaths related to COVID-19 in the past two days, resulting in a total of 6,892 of the state.
Hospitalizations also peaked this weekend, as the state reported 3,749 in hospitals on Saturday, seven times higher than Friday’s total.
According to the state, 783 COVID-19 patients are being treated in hospital in intensive care units. This means that more than one-fifth of those hospitalized with COVID-19 are in ICUs. Hospitals across the state are 74 percent full, and ICU beds currently have 83 percent capacity.
The positive test rate also rose to 15.5 percent, which is the third highest point in the course of the pandemic and the highest since the initial two-day outbreak in mid-April.
The high numbers occur when officials worry about the impact that holiday gatherings could have on the course of the pandemic over the next few months.