Delta variant numbers crush Cape Fear’s pandemic peak cases

NEW HANOVER COUNTY (WWAY) — With the entire state of North Carolina in the red, the number of hospitalized people battling severe cases of Covid-19 are taking a toll on New Hanover Regional Medical Center.

According to Novant’s Dr. West Paul, New Hanover COVID numbers, percent positivity, and rate of rise are increasing rapidly.

“This is far over peak that we saw in January and December,” Paul said. “This is almost a new animal if you want to put it that way.”

Paul said people with the delta variant are getting much sicker, much faster in the Cape Fear Region. It makes up 94 to 98 percent of the COVID cases. The surge is consuming the hospital.

According to Paul, “Before for those numbers it took a month and a half, two months to get those numbers up. This time, it’s taken one month. Two weeks ago we were at 47 patients. Now we’re over 100.”

According to health workers both in charge and on the ground, the sickest patients in the ICU all have one thing in common.

“It could have been prevented,” said ICU nurse, Sarah Silvers. “The patients we are seeing are overwhelmingly unvaccinated.”

Doctors and nurses like Ashley Gillespie are already short-staffed. Gillespie says the accelerated pace has been physically and mentally draining.

“One of the hardest parts of being in the COVID unit sometimes the moments leading up to that, and making sure a husband, a wife, sometimes children, getting to hear their voice one more time,” Gillespie said.

According to Dr. Paul, COVID patients make up more than half of the ICU. The hospital is quickly approaching capacity.

“We are not at capacity yet. We do have planning when we do reach capacity to move into alternative areas for intensive care units as these patients are taking up ICU beds at a higher rate than before,” Paul explained.

Though Dr. Paul said we could continue to see a rise for at least two to three more weeks, he and hospital staff encourage everyone to mask, and the unvaccinated to get their shot.

“We’re not saying you’re not going to get sick,” Gillespie continued, “you’re not going to get COVID. What we know at this point as that from what we’ve seen, it should keep you out of the ICU.”

According to a New Hanover County spokesperson, there has been a slight increase in the number of vaccinations our Public Health clinics are seeing. Public Health administered 1,087 total vaccinations in the month of July. In the first 17 days of August, they’ve administered 965 vaccines.