North Carolina reports at least 398 COVID-19 cases

RALEIGH, NC (WWAY) — North Carolina health officials now say there are 398 cases of coronavirus across the state – up from 297 cases on Monday.

There are still no coronavirus-related deaths in North Carolina.

The jump in new cases can be partially attributed to the increase of tests being completed.

A total of 8,502 tests have been completed.

Mecklenburg County, which has 104 cases as of Tuesday morning, said nearly half of its cases are patients age 20-39.

Tuesday’s numbers come after Gov. Roy Cooper issued a new executive order that closes public K-12 schools through May and bans gatherings of more than 50 people.

Also Tuesday, Vidant Health, along with the North Carolina Healthcare Association, called for Cooper to order shelter in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.

NCHA said protective equipment is running low in “nearly every region of the State.”

“It is imperative that we move quickly, as it will take at least two weeks after a shelter in place order is issued before we see a change in the trajectory of cases.

NCHA said the state cannot afford to be led by a false sense of security by a “low number of cases.”

Cooper does not have a press conference scheduled for Tuesday.

Johns Hopkins University reports a total of 392,780 coronavirus cases across the globe and 17,159 COVID-19-related deaths.

The University says the U.S. has the third most cases in the world with 46,481.

China has 81,588 while Italy has 63,927.