NC reports over 400 new COVID-19 cases, six more deaths

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Hundreds more cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in North Carolina and the statewide death toll has increased by six, according to information released by the state health department Saturday.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported an additional 404 cases over a 24-hour span, bringing the state total to 4,312. That figure is almost uncertainly an undercount because not everyone with the illness is tested.

Eighty deaths have been confirmed and 362 people were hospitalized, according to the information the department posted online Saturday.

The latest report comes after Gov. Gov. Roy Cooper announced earlier this week that North Carolina groceries and other retailers must meet new capacity restrictions and cleanliness standards.

Under Cooper’s new executive order set to take effect on Monday at 5 p.m., retailers, pharmacies and other businesses will have to limit entry so that occupancy can’t be more than 20% of their fire-code capacity. Retailers also will have to mark out 6 feet of spacing in cashier lines and high-traffic areas.

Nationwide, the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus eclipsed Italy’s for the highest in the world Saturday at more than 19,700. Worldwide, confirmed infections rose above 1.7 million, with over 100,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

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