Nearly half of NC counties are now in coronavirus ‘red’ zone. Here are the 48 listed
At least 48 of North Carolina’s 100 counties are now in the “red” zone on the state’s COVID-19 risk map — more double the number during the week of Thanksgiving.
Red indicates “critical community spread,” according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
The updated map comes as Gov. Roy Cooper announced a modified stay-at-home order on Tuesday that includes a 10 p.m. curfew. The order starts Friday and will remain in effect until Jan. 8.
State health officials released the new county alert system last month to help residents, businesses and public officials make better-informed decisions about how to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Under the three-tiered system, each county is color-coded red, orange, or yellow according to the level of spread.
Red indicates more than 200 cases per 100,000 people in a two-week span, a positive test rate higher than 10% or high impact on county hospitals.
Here’s what to know.
Red counties along I-95 corridor
Most of the counties lining the Interstate 95 corridor in Eastern North Carolina — including Robeson, Harnett, Johnston, Wilson and Halifax counties — are listed in the red zone.
Nash County, which is orange, is one of 15 counties as of Friday where at least 100 people have died from COVID-19. It’s also experienced the greatest percentage increase in deaths since Oct. 1, The News & Observer reported.
Red counties along I-40 corridor
Many of the counties along Interstate 40, which runs east to west across North Carolina, are also red.
They include Haywood, Catawba, Iredell, Forsyth, Guilford, Alamance, Johnston and Sampson counties.
Wake County, home to Raleigh, is orange, meaning “substantial” COVID-19 spread.
Suburban Charlotte
Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, is orange.
But it’s surrounded on all sides by suburban and rural counties that have fallen into the COVID-19 red zone, including Union, Cabarrus, Rowan, Iredell, Catawba, Lincoln and Gaston.
Coastal counties
Much of the North Carolina coast remains in the lowest tier on the COVID-19 risk map.
Dare County — home to the Outer Banks — is yellow, as is Hyde County. Yellow indicates “significant” COVID-19 spread. Currituck, which borders Virginia, is orange.
New Hanover County, where Wilmington is located, is also yellow. Neighboring Brunswick and Pender counties are orange, according to the state’s map.
Western North Carolina
Counties in the mountains of North Carolina sit at one of two extremes on the coronavirus risk map. Cherokee, Swain, Jackson and Haywood counties tucked in the far western corner of the state are listed as red.
Their neighbors in Graham, Clay and Macon counties, meanwhile, are in the yellow zone.
Buncombe County, home to Asheville, is also yellow. But Madison and Yancey counties on its northern border are red.
South Carolina border
A large swath of coronavirus cases in South Carolina, which had a test positivity rate of more than 18% on Tuesday, are concentrated in the Upstate and Midlands regions bordering North Carolina.
Those border counties in North Carolina that are red include Union, Anson, Richmond, Scotland, Robeson and Columbus.
Here the 48 “red” counties in North Carolina:
▪ Alamance County
▪ Alexander County
▪ Anson County
▪ Avery County
▪ Bertie County
▪ Cabarrus County
▪ Caldwell County
▪ Caswell County
▪ Catawba County
▪ Cherokee County
▪ Cleveland County
▪ Columbus County
▪ Davidson County
▪ Edgecombe County
▪ Forsyth County
▪ Gaston County
▪ Gates County
▪ Guilford County
▪ Halifax County
▪ Harnett County
▪ Haywood County
▪ Hertford County
▪ Hoke County
▪ Iredell County
▪ Jackson County
▪ Johnston County
▪ Lincoln County
▪ Madison County
▪ Mitchell County
▪ Montgomery County
▪ Onslow County
▪ Pasquotank County
▪ Perquimans County
▪ Richmond County
▪ Robeson County
▪ Rockingham County
▪ Rowan County
▪ Rutherford County
▪ Samspon County
▪ Scotland County
▪ Surry County
▪ Swain County
▪ Union County
▪ Vance County
▪ Warren County
▪ Wilson County
▪ Yakdin County
▪ Yancy County
This story was originally published December 8, 2020, 3:19 PM.
.jpg)
