Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on April 7
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We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date news about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases pass 3,300
North Carolina has at least 3,321 reported cases of the coronavirus as of Tuesday evening, and 54 people have died, according to state and county health departments.
The number of reported cases in North Carolina doubled in six days, hitting the 3,000 mark Monday evening. But the total number of cases is likely higher, experts say.
“We certainly know there are more,” said associate professor of epidemiology at UNC-Chapel Hill Kimberly Powers. “How many more, is the tricky part.”
Mecklenburg County, an epicenter of the pandemic in North Carolina, has 810 reported cases and eight deaths, the most in the state.
Wake County has 351 reported cases and no deaths, while neighboring Durham County has 219 reported cases and one death.
More than 41,000 have been tested for the virus as of Tuesday morning, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said.
Hospitalizations surge
At least 354 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 as of Tuesday morning, a jump from 270 people the day before.
There’s at least a 50% chance North Carolina won’t have enough space at hospitals if the state doesn’t extend social distancing efforts beyond April 29, according to a model released Monday.
With an extension of the policies, the chance for running out of patient areas lowers to about 20%, according to the model from experts at Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill and other institutions.
DMV asks for deadline extensions
The N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles has asked lawmakers to allow it to extend deadlines for renewing driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations.
The DMV says it’s been inundated with complaints from people still required to get these renewals despite the statewide stay-at-home order.
It’s already limited operations at its driver’s license offices — closing 61 of them and operating by appointment only at the remaining 57.
Unemployment claims
North Carolina could pass 500,000 unemployment claims by the end of this week, with an average of 21,000 people filing claims every day in recent weeks.
Nearly $30 million in unemployment benefits have been approved for people who have been put out of work due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Officials are also working to fix problems that have been reported while filing a claim.
Nursing home reports case
A resident at a nursing home in Franklin County tested positive for the coronavirus, and several others are showing symptoms, officials said Tuesday.
The facility, Louisburg Nursing Center northeast of Raleigh, plans to test all residents and staff for the virus, it said.
Several nursing homes in North Carolina have had cases of COVID-19.
Nine nursing homes and three residential care facilities in the state have ongoing outbreaks of the virus, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Financial aid for child care
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday it will give financial aid to essential workers who need child care and meet certain criteria through the Emergency Child Care Subsidy Program.
The program will be offered through at least May and will also give bonuses to some child care workers.
Stay home order working
Gov. Roy Cooper said in a news conference Tuesday that the stay-at-home order in North Carolina is working, but he doesn’t know when it will be lifted.
The governor also said he’s planning to announce new executive orders this week, including one to limit how many people can be in a store at one time.
He also discouraged Easter and Passover gatherings.
Company expansion planned
A company that helps make conferences possible through Zoom, Google Hangouts and other services announced Tuesday that it plans to expand its Raleigh headquarters. The tech firm Bandwidth Inc. said it will add up to 1,165 jobs within an eight-year period.
As people work away from their offices during the coronavirus pandemic, some have turned to voice conference services.
Treatment testing
An antiviral drug researchers at UNC helped develop will be tested on humans as a treatment for the coronavirus.
The drug, called EIDD-2801, can be taken in pill form and prevented or reduced severe lung damage during testing on mice infected with COVID-19, researchers say.
Clinical trials on humans are expected to start in the spring.
Projecting the ‘peak’
The coronavirus pandemic will peak early next week in North Carolina, weeks earlier than originally projected, according to researchers at the University of Washington.
Researchers predict the maximum use of hospital beds will come on Monday, April 13, and that deaths will peak two days later, at 30 a day, The News & Observer reports.
But North Carolina models developed locally predict the need for beds will peak much later — in mid to late May.
“We know that modeling is not a crystal ball,” said Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, according to The N&O.
Prisons limit movement
North Carolina prisons have stopped accepting offenders from county jails for the next two weeks in an effort to slow the spread of coronavirus, officials said Monday.
The transfer of inmates between prisons will mostly stop during this time.
As of Monday, eight inmates in the North Carolina prison system had tested positive for the coronavirus.
About 450 inmates are sent to state prisons each week and about 1,110 are transferred between prisons each week.
Outbreak at federal prison
Reported coronavirus cases at a federal prison in North Carolina have increased dramatically, officials said Monday.
At least 59 people have tested positive for the virus at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, which is five times the number reported over the weekend.
The majority of those cases are among inmates.
This story was originally published April 7, 2020 at 6:55 AM.
