As the state remains paused in phase three of its COVID-19 reopening plan, new cases in Rowan County are coming at a steady rate.

Case increases since Sunday have been in double digits, as they have for much of the outbreak. The county added 24 new cases to its total on Wednesday and saw few other changes.

The number of active cases in Rowan stood at 478 on Wednesday, according to Health Department data. The number of total cases, meanwhile, stopped just short of 4,000 — at 3,934. There have also been 3,345 recoveries, 21 people hospitalized and 111 deaths — a number that’s been unchanged since last week.

Hospitalizations in the previous two weeks have fluctuated in roughly the same range — the high teens to mid-20s. The two-week average of new cases in Rowan County has hovered between 20 and 30. Recoveries, though, haven’t come as quickly and resulted in a slight increase in active cases from two weeks ago.

The 14-day metric is used by state officials to determine trends in the outbreak. And across the state, officials said Wednesday, there’s a clear worsening trend — a reason to remain paused in the state’s current phase of reopening for three more weeks.

“As this pandemic continues, I know it’s difficult and tiring to keep up our guard, especially when we’re gathered with people we love. But it’s necessary. No one wants to spread COVID-19 accidentally to friends or family, so we must keep prevention at the forefront,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a news release. “Wearing a mask shows you care about people. Wearing a mask is an easy way to protect our communities and look out for each other. Confronting the virus head-on and doing our part as individuals is good for our health and good for our economy.”

The trajectory of cases over the previous 14 days is increasing. The percent of cases returning positive as well as hospitalizations are also increasing, state officials said.

Statewide on Wednesday, there were 250,592 cases, 1,219 people hospitalized and 4,032 deaths.

In other COVID-19 statistics:

• The 18-35 age group has seen the plurality of cases, 1,120. Second is the 36-50 age group, which has seen 919 cases.
• Women are 52.52% of cases while men are 47.48% of cases.
• Zip codes 28144, 28146 and 28147 are where most COVID-19 cases have occurring, owing their position in part to nursing homes and congregate living facilities in their boundaries. Together, they have 2,609 cases.
• The average age of the COVID-19 dead is 80. The average age of those testing positive is 43.8, and the average age of the hospitalized is 64.
• Hispanic and ethnicity data is as follows: 58.49% of cases are white Rowan Countians, 24.33% are Hispanic, 14.26% are Black, 14.16% are labeled “other” and 12% are labeled unknown. Roughly 1% combined are Asian, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander or American Indian.