55,318 patients presumed to be recovered from COVID-19 as hospitalizations reach record high

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Here are the latest updates about COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in North Carolina.

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11 p.m.

Two Fayetteville men who were hospitalized with COVID-19 spoke with ABC11's Michael Lozano on how they feel months after their battles with the virus.

7:25 p.m.

Durham County health officials are reporting 63 more COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 4,176. There have been 67 deaths county-wide.

5:05 p.m.

Wake County health officials are reporting 143 more COVID-19 cases since Sunday, bringing the total to 6,265. There have been 49 deaths county-wide.

5 p.m.

Lee County health officials are reporting 55 new cases of COVID-19 since last week, bringing the total to 861. There have been eight deaths countywide.

4:38 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Public Safety is continuing its efforts to contain and reduce the spread of COVID-19 in state prisons by conducting testing of the offender population statewide. This week mass offender population testing will be conducted at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women (NCCIW) in Raleigh.

Testing for the entire facility will be conducted after multiple offenders in one housing unit at NCCIW last week showed symptoms of virus, were immediately isolated, tested for the virus and had positive test results. The next day, July 2, all 227 offenders in that housing unit were tested for the COVID-19. The results came in during the weekend and showed 45 were positive for the virus.

The positive offenders were separated and placed in medical isolation, and the negative offenders who were potentially exposed to the virus were placed under medical quarantine, with close observation and twice daily temperature checks. This was done in keeping with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

An estimated 90 offenders at a different housing unit at the prison had tested positive for the virus at the end of April. Since the pandemic began, a total of 877 of the 31,500 offender population have tested positive for COVID-19 and a total of 764 are presumed recovered under criteria established by the CDC and DHHS.

4:15 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 55,318 patients are presumed to be recovered from COVID-19 in the state, an increase of 9,780 people from last week.

Because North Carolinians, hospitals and health care workers aren't required to report recoveries to the state, NCDHHS uses an estimated median recovery time to calculate the number of people who are considered recovered from the novel coronavirus. Patients who were not hospitalized are considered recovered after 14 days. The estimated recovery time for patients who were hospitalized is 28 days.

However, individual patients' recovery times could be longer or shorter depending on the severity of their illness. It's currently unknown whether patients who have recovered from COVID-19 are susceptible to catching the virus again.

4 p.m.

Cumberland County health officials are reporting 157 new COVID-19 cases since Thursday, bringing the total case count to 1,484. There have been 41 deaths county-wide.

3:45 p.m.

Sampson County health officials are reporting 1,122 COVID-19 cases, up 37. There have been seven deaths county-wide. Of the total cases, 837 are recovered.

3:20 p.m.

Gov. Roy Cooper tweeted on Monday: "Today there are 982 people hospitalized with COVID-19, a concerning new high for our state.

This virus can be deadly, and we must take it seriously - wearing our masks, washing our hands & waiting 6 ft. apart - so we don't overwhelm our hospitals. We don't want to go backward."

1:42 p.m.

Halifax County said that out of 1,991 confirmed tests performed on residents, there are 338 positive COVID-19 cases, including four deaths.

A total of 261 patients have recovered.

Noon

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported another record high in hospitalizations with 982 people currently hospitalized due to complications associated with COVID-19.

The previous record high was 951.

Monday's number was up 33 from Sunday. 81 percent of hospitals are currently reporting, according to NCDHHS.

Last week, Dr. Cohen said the state still has the capacity to meet demand, however, hospitalizations are a lagging indicator and it takes longer to see the impact of viral spread on hospitalizations than it does on other metrics.

1,546 new cases were reported Monday after a lower than average day of testing. 13,060 were reported as completed in the last 24 hours. That's down from an average around 20,000 daily last week.

The percent positive in the state has remained around 9 percent. Dr. Cohen has said she wants this number to be closer to 5 percent.

Two more deaths were reported in the state, bringing the total to 1,398 so far in the pandemic.

Dr. Ashish Jha, Director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, explains why death rates are down and why he thinks they will start going back up soon

There was so much concern as we head into the holiday weekend given what we saw after memorial day.

11 a.m.

"This was the best news I've had in months," Linda Esler said as she entered Millbrook Exchange Park ready to enjoy the swimming pool.

Raleigh public pools opened Monday for the first time this year. All swimmers have to undergo temperature checks, answer a COVID-19 questionnaire and adhere to social distancing guidelines.

Esler said she's not too worried about the virus.

"Oh come on! I'm healthy, I've been fine for months and I'm older," she said. "I think people who are sick should stay home and everyolne else should be able to go on with their lives."

All swimmers are encouraged to register online before arriving at the pool, because limited capacity is being enforced.

MORE: Is it safe to go swimming in a pool during the coronavirus pandemic?

10 a.m.

Someone at a Raleigh summer camp has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email sent to parents from Raleigh's Recreation and Cultural Resources Department. The letter warns that children attending the camp could have contracted the virus.

"We have been made aware that a participant or employee attending summer camp at your child's location has tested positive for COVID-19," the email read in part. "Exposure began on June 29, 2020. Your child had exposure to the individual who tested positive and it is possible that your child could have contracted the virus."

The email was sent to 24 families, according to the city.

The letter asks parents to contact Wake County Health and Human Services (covid19.questions@wakegov.com or (919) 856-7044) for further guidance. The effected camper(s) must be isolated for 14 days from the time of exposure with no development of symptoms.

MONDAY MORNING STORYLINES

Raleigh pools will reopen Monday with restrictions. The CDC says COVID-19 cannot spread in the water, but swimmers still need to be cautious. Health officials say pools can be safe, as long as swimmers stick to social distancing guidelines in and out of the water.

All facilities will have reduced capacity with social distancing rules in place. Guests must reserve spots online and sessions will be reduced to 75 minutes. Masks are required and guests are subject to wellness checks at the gate.

SUNDAY

7:15 p.m.

Durham health officials report 4,113 total COVID-19 cases as of Sunday evening, up 56 from Saturday night.

5 p.m.

Authorities in northwestern Spain have ordered the lockdown of a county with a population of 71,000 for fears of a coronavirus outbreak.

Regional authorities in Galicia announced Sunday that movement to and from A Mariña county located on Spain's northern Atlantic coast will be prohibited starting at midnight. It will run through Friday, two days before the region holds elections.

The decision comes one day after regional authorities in northeast Catalonia locked down an area with over 200,000 inhabitants.

READ MORE: Spain locks down county of 71K fearing coronavirus outbreak

12:20 p.m.

North Carolina health officials reported 1,329 more COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 72,983. There has been one more death from the virus, bringing the state death total to 1,396.

More than 18,500 new tests bring the total amount of completed COVID-19 tests to 1,036,838 statewide.

Four more patients are being hospitalized, bringing the total to 949.

The state's percent positive test rate has fluctuated between 8 and 10 percent the last few weeks. It is currently 9 percent.

With 78 percent of hospitals reporting, 4,997 (28 percent) inpatient beds and 553 ICU beds (25 percent) are empty.

8 a.m.

As of Sunday morning, there have been 2,839,917 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States.

RELATED: 4th of July fuels worries about skyrocketing coronavirus cases in US