Wake, Durham and Orange are seeing fewer COVID outbreaks, new cases. Here’s the data.

For the third week in a row, new COVID-19 cases, related deaths and the percentage of tests returning positive all dropped in Wake, Durham and Orange counties — a signal of continued improvement in the Triangle and around the state.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reports COVID-19 data daily, but did not provide a Feb. 28 update due to the changes being implemented to allow for more efficient data management, a DHHS spokeswoman said. The most recent data released by the department shows hospitalizations across the state at their lowest point since mid-November.

Vaccine distribution remains underway throughout North Carolina, which crested 2 million total doses administered in the past week. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines both require two doses to reach full effectiveness. Teachers and childcare workers became eligible for the vaccine this past week, as some schools have moved to resume in-person classes.

Here’s how Wake, Durham and Orange counties are doing at the end of another week of improvement.

New cases, vaccinations in Wake

In Wake County, DHHS reported 1,716 new COVID-19 cases in the seven days prior to and including Feb. 27, down from 1,755 the week before. The county has seen a total of 74,250 cases since the pandemic began. It also reported 521 total deaths from the virus — two more than had been reported the week before.

As of Thursday, an average of 5.3% of tests over the past 14 days were returning positive. That’s fewer than the 6% of tests returning positive as of the week before, but still slightly above the 5% target health officials have set for the state.

A total of 143,604 first doses of the vaccine have been administered in Wake County. That’s 19,833 more than had been administered the week before. Second doses saw an increase of 20,581, bringing the total administered in the county to 78,877 doses.

Though the state has moved to allow larger gatherings, including more spectators at sporting events, Wake County has taken a more reserved approach. The county school system announced Wednesday that it would wait until the following week before updating its guidelines, which currently allow for a capacity of 25 people at indoor events and 100 at outdoor events.

At colleges across the state — including some in Wake, Durham and Orange counties — the spring semester has not brought about the same kind of COVID-19 spikes that campuses saw last fall, The News & Observer reported. Administrators and health experts said frequent testing and early detection have helped to slow the spread on campuses.

Outbreaks in Wake County dropped to 49 as of Saturday, down from 51 the week before. Of those, 19 outbreaks are currently occurring in nursing homes, while 25 are in residential care facilities and five are in correctional facilities. DHHS defines an outbreak in congregate living facilities as two or more residents or employees testing positive for the virus.

But even as the number of outbreaks went down, Wake County Public Health announced Friday that a new outbreak had been detected in Raleigh. The outbreak is at Spring Arbor, an assisted living and memory care facility on New Hope Road. Seven residents and one staff member have tested positive for the virus, according to DHHS data released Friday. It’s the first detected outbreak at the facility.

COVID-19 clusters in schools and child care settings— which DHHS defines as five confirmed cases that can be plausibly linked together over a 14-day period — rose in Wake over the past seven days. There are now 21 clusters, up from a reported 18 the week before. Eleven clusters occurred in K-12 schools, while 10 occurred in childcare settings.

New cases, vaccinations in Durham

Durham County saw 368 new cases in the seven days prior to and including Feb. 27, according to DHHS data. That’s fewer than the 470 new cases reported the week before. In total, the county has reported 21,491 cases of the virus.

DHHS has reported 203 deaths in Durham County during the pandemic — an increase of three since last week.

As of Thursday, an average of 4.9% of tests over the past 14 days were returning positive, down from an average of 5.6% the week before.

There have been 49,207 first doses administered in Durham — an increase of 4,742 doses in the past week. A total of 33,156 second doses have been administered in the county, a figure which rose by 8,034 in the past week.

Durham experienced a notable drop in outbreaks, with 15 reported as of Saturday compared to 25 the week before. Of those, eight occurred in nursing homes, three in residential care facilities and one in a correctional facility. Three were categorized as “Other” by DHHS.

Clusters remained constant between weeks, with two occurring in childcare settings.

New cases, vaccinations in Orange

In Orange County, DHHS reported 147 new cases in the seven days prior to and including Feb. 27, bringing the county’s running case total to 7,702. The state reported fewer new cases in the county than the week before, which saw 184 new cases added.

A total of 93 people have died from the virus in Orange County. That’s the same number of deaths as had been reported the week before.

As of Thursday, an average of 0.9% of tests over the past 14 days were returning positive. That’s slightly fewer than the 1.2% of tests returning positive the week before.

First doses administered in the county grew by 1,697 in the past week to reach 27,415. The county also saw an additional 4,267 second doses administered, reaching a total of 19,138 doses.

There were four outbreaks in Orange County as of Saturday, down from seven the week before. Two of those outbreaks occurred in nursing homes, while the other two occurred in residential care facilities.

Clusters remained constant at two, both of which occurred in child care settings.