NCDHHS: COVID-19 By The Numbers North Carolina May 18, 2020

Raleigh -- North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services May 18, 2020 Staying apart brings us together.

Protect your family and neighbors. #StayStrongNC

COVID-19 By the Numbers  Updated daily by 11 a.m Last Updated 11:00 a.m. May 18, 2020

Laboratory-Confirmed Cases    19,023
Deaths                                        661
Completed Tests                        225,755               
Currently Hospitalized                        511 
Number of Counties                           99

Knowing when to dial up or down social distancing and other protections depends on two factors: our Trends in key metrics, and our capacity to conduct Testing and Tracing. Governor Cooper and Secretary Cohen announced a combination of key metrics that North Carolina is watching to inform decisions to ease restrictions. These key metrics are included below. 

New: Weekly report on COVID-19 Patients Presumed to be Recovered updated every Monday by 4 p.m. 

Laboratory-Confirmed Cases reflect cases that were tested and returned positive, including the NC State Laboratory of Public Health, reporting hospitals and commercial labs. All data are preliminary. Not all cases of COVID-19 are tested, so this does not represent the total number of people in North Carolina who have or had COVID-19.

Deaths reflect deaths in persons with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 reported by local health departments to the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

Completed tests reflect testing completed by the NC State Laboratory of Public Health, reporting hospitals and commercial labs.

Currently hospitalized reflect the number of patients with COVID-19 that are currently hospitalized in reporting hospitals.

For COVID-19 U.S. case information go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website.