RALEIGH â COVID-19 cases in North Carolina are slowly inching toward the milestone of 1 million cases, while in Avery County, the last county to report a positive case last May, the total of confirmed positive cases has topped 2,000. Local and state vaccination statistics The latest County Alert System map and statistics were released on April 1 by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, with the report providing good news on the critical spread of COVID-19 in the state. âNorth Carolinaâs key metrics show a leveling off of trends in COVID-19 spread after several weeks of decline,â the NCDHHS report introduction stated.