Lowest number of new COVID-19 cases reported since end of June as state reports 5% positive tests

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

What can we help you with? View our COVID-19 information and resources page here

10 p.m.

ABC11's Josh Chapin spoke to North Carolina gyms still hoping for a rescue plan amid another Phase 2 extension.

Kim Saguinsin owns Warrior Tech, an obstacle course racing training facility in Morrisville. It has been closed since mid-March.

"People use fitness for so many different things," said Saguinsin. "We went into business to serve, to provide and when you're told you can't do that, that's a tough pill to swallow."

Saguinsin said PPP help was just a "bandaid." The landlord helped them with money but there are still funds to pay back.

"When I wake up in the morning and I see that I made zero dollars, I have to look in the mirror and remind myself I didn't fail," said Saguinsin

Doug Warf, president of O2 Fitness said he didn't expect to hear a closure date of September 11. The club has not charged its 40,000 members in four months.

"We feel like we've done everything right and we feel like we've played by every rule possible and when you play the equity game of what is open against what's still closed, it doesn't make sense anymore," said Warf.

7:30 p.m.

Cumberland County health officials are reporting 184 new COVID-19 cases since Friday, bringing the total to 3,286 county-wide with 51 deaths.

5 p.m.

North Carolina health officials are reporting 116,969 are presumed to be recovered from COVID-19, up 11,876 from last week's update.

The estimated number of patients presumed to be recovered from symptoms from COVID-19 is used in combination with other measures to provide a general sense of how many people with COVID-19 have likely recovered from symptoms.

4:20 p.m.

Lee County health officials are reporting 72 more COVID-19 cases since last Monday, bringing the total to 1,282 cases to date county-wide.

3:00 p.m.

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 626 new COVID-19 cases--the lowest daily increase in cases since June 26. However, the state also reported a relatively low number of new completed tests--15,371, the lowest since July 6.

Wake County also reported low numbers on Monday. The county reported 38 new cases. The previous two Mondays had more than 100 new cases.

To date, 5% of tests are positive--meeting NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen's goal. The percentage of positive tests has been dropping in recent weeks, from 8-10% in early and mid-July to 7-8% over the last two weeks.

NCDHHS says 1,111 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, however, only 80% of hospitals are reporting statewide. In North Carolina hospitals, 617 intensive care unit beds and 6,058 inpatient beds are currently available.

11 a.m.

A new COVID-19 cluster appears to have formed with a summer football team.

According to North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, a COVID-19 cluster--defined as 5 or more cases--happened in Orange County last week.

The numbers, released Friday, Aug. 7, show five confirmed cases of the virus among the Christian Leadership Academy Summer Session Football Team.

MONDAY MORNING STORYLINES

Leaders in Morrisville are asking children to quarantine after two siblings tested positive for COVID-19 at a summer camp. The children went to camp at Cedar Fork Community Center. The town has reached out to the families of more than 30 campers who may have been exposed.

For the first time in over a month, only 6% of Sunday's reported COVID-19 tests in North Carolina were positive. The number of hospitalizations dropped by 20 to 1,109.

Data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction shows most K-12 parents won't have the option of sending their kids back to school at the start of the fall, even partially.

Gov. Roy Cooper allowed districts to opt for fully remote learning in his reopening guidance. His Republican gubernatorial election opponent, Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, wants every parent to be able to have the choice for fully in-person learning five days a week. The state remains in Phase 2 of its reopening as coronavirus cases remain high in North Carolina, and some teachers fear they don't have the cleaning supplies they need.

North Carolina public health officials told the Republican National Committee that the party can have more than 10 people in a room to conduct official convention business while in Charlotte. The updated guidance eases indoor gathering limits Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper imposed in a recently extended executive order.

College football leaders are discussing possibly postponing the season. The final call on whether major college football will be played this season rests in the hands of the university presidents who oversee the largest conferences.

SUNDAY

8:34 p.m.

Eight inmates within the Durham County Detention Facility have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Sheriff Clarence F. Birkhead.

Birkhead said all staff and those in custody at the facility are being tested for the virus.

"Our worst fear has come true inside the facility and we are taking immediate and corrective steps to get in front of it," Birkhead wrote in a statement.

The Durham County Health Department has already begun contact tracing and anyone exposed to the virus will be contacted.

6:47 p.m.

Durham County health officials report 6,179 total cases of COVID-19 as of Sunday evening, up 67 from Saturday.

6:30 p.m.

A Morrisville youth summer camp is closing its last week of camp after two sibling campers tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.

Town officials said the two siblings attended camp at Cedar Fork Community Center.

"The safety of campers is our top priority, so we canceled camp this week to be as cautious as possible," said Recreation Superintendent Matt Leaver. "After learning that we had received a positive test, we felt the best course of action would be to do whatever possible to protect the children and staff."

The town has since notified the families of more than 30 children about the COVID-19 case and asked them to isolate their children accordingly.

12:10 p.m.

North Carolina health officials are reporting 1,452 more COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 136,218.

There have been eight more deaths from the virus, bringing the total to 2,168.

Hospitalizations are down 20 to 1,109.

With 84 percent of tests reporting, 631 ICU beds and 5,773 inpatient hospital beds are empty.

Why you might see different numbers of COVID-19 cases depending where you look

So far, 16,782 more tests have been completed, bringing the total to 1,986,548 across the state.

The state is reporting a percent positive test rate of 6 percent, the lowest over the past month.

7:30 a.m.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there are 4,998,802 confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States.