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Health experts say more restrictions could be needed to bring numbers down if COVID-19 data doesn't start trending in right direction

North Carolina saw single-day record case numbers last week, reaching nearly 3,000 cases Friday.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — In the last week, North Carolina has reached record coronavirus case numbers, and health experts warn more restrictions might be needed to help bring the case count down if things don't get better soon. 

Cone Health Infectious Disease Specialist Dr. Cynthia Snider says a couple of issues, including pandemic fatigue, could be to blame: 

"It still has a lot to do with the fact of us keep opening up in different phases and as we have more students attending universities," said Snider, "People not wearing their masks as much and they're still frequenting quite a few places."

RELATED: COVID-19 Blog: NC hospitalizations remain high as Phase 3 expiration looms

Friday, case counts in our state reached 2,900. They've come down since, partly because of lower testing over the weekend. 

If the upward trend doesn't stop, Snider said more restrictions might be needed. 

"If our rates keep going up we have to come back down to some sort of not necessarily lockdown," said Snider, "We have to have some commitment from everybody to stay home and in place for a bit so we know that we can drive down those rates."

Some students are going back to the classroom, like in Winston-Salem/Forsyth County. Other districts have fallen back to a remote plan, like in Rockingham County.

Guilford County Schools is set to discuss next steps for its reentry plan this week.

Snider admits, figuring out the right move is complicated.

So much needs to be done in terms of screening and testing access for students to understand if they're coming in with symptoms how do we manage that appropriately," Snider said. 

Snider also said schools and local governments need more help from the federal government.

That should include educational resources and access to testing.

RELATED: Guilford County Schools parents, teachers waiting to find out if students will return for in person classes

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