RALEIGH, N.C. — Gov. Roy Cooper and the state COVID-19 task force shared an update on how North Carolina is doing during the pandemic on Wednesday.
Cooper urged four points for North Carolinians ahead of the Christmas holiday.
- Get boosted
- Get tested
- Get vaccinated if you haven't already
- Wear a mask when indoors in public
During this time last year, COVID-19 cases were surging, leading to the peak of the pandemic thus far.
Since then, vaccines have mitigated the spread of the virus.
However, state and federal leaders are now warning of the rapidly-spreading omicron variant. The state task force said it is anticipating a surge in cases in the next couple of weeks.
Health officials outlined three ways they are preparing for potential spread.
- Protect the most vulnerable people, like those in nursing homes
- Support hospitals to have enough beds
- Ensure North Carolinians have access to testing
State health leaders said you should only travel if you've gotten your booster shot. If you haven't, they urge you to wear a mask.
NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said they are sharing this message because of the new and highly contagious omicron variant.
While Dr. Cohen said it's not the most dominant variant here right now, it is being seen all over the state. She said they are expecting a record number of cases. That is why they're asking people to act now and preparing hospitals.
"I would say substantially more than the highest number of cases we've seen in the delta surge, so as many as, I don't want to give specifics here, but I think we could see as many as 10,000 cases a day at the peak, it is that infectious," Cohen said.
Cohen said if you get your booster now you will be more protected by the earliest part of January, which is when they are expecting more spread of the new variant.
"We've identified our first cases, but now we are really sequencing it from nearly all of our major hospital systems, and so, I believe by the first week of January, certainly into the second week of January, that it may be certainly rising to the predominant variant, and then we may have both delta and omicron side by side for a number of weeks," Cohen said.
Gov. Cooper said during the press conference that right now, they are not at the point of putting any state-wide requirements in place.
North Carolina's latest COVID-19 metrics
Monday, labs confirmed nearly 2,900 new cases.
They made up 9.3% of recent tests - above the state's target of 5% or lower to know the spread or slowing or contained.
Hospitalizations were at 1,630 statewide, including 86 at Cone Health.
The hospitalization pattern at Cone Health is similar to that of hospitals statewide. Patient totals are holding steady, showing no sharp inclines or declines. However, we're getting a clearer picture of who is getting seriously sick with COVID-19.
Cone Health reports 85% of COVID-19 intakes are unvaccinated. All but one patient in the ICU are unvaccinated.
Doctors emphasize, even with the risk of a breakthrough case, vaccination is the best protection against serious illness and death from this awful virus.
We expect to learn more amount metrics and holiday safety during Cooper's task force briefing.
