Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on April 13
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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.
100 deaths reported
North Carolina has at least 4,922 reported cases of the coronavirus as of Monday afternoon, and 107 people have died, according to state and county health departments.
At least 313 North Carolinians were in the hospital with COVID-19 on Monday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services says.
All but eight of the state’s 100 counties have reported at least one case of the coronavirus.
Mecklenburg County has the most, with 975 cases and 15 deaths. The county reported 24 new cases and three more deaths Monday.
The Triangle has more than 1,000 reported cases of the virus between Wake, Durham, Orange and Johnston counties. Eight people have died in Johnston County, two have died in Orange County, and one has died in Durham County.
Retail restrictions begin
Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order limiting the number of people allowed in retail stores at once will go into effect at 5 p.m. Monday.
The order limits a store’s occupancy to 20 percent of its fire capacity, or five people per 1,000 square feet.
Stores are also required to mark 6 feet of distance in areas shoppers gather, such as checkout lines and the outside areas where people wait to enter. They must also perform “frequent environmental cleaning and routine disinfecting.”
Some retailers, such as Harris Teeter, Trader Joe’s, Walmart and Target have already implemented occupancy limits.
Antibody tests
One thousand people in North Carolina will get an antibody test to see if they’ve had the coronavirus.
Wake Forest Baptist Health will conduct a year-long random sample of its patients to try to find out how widespread the virus is in the state.
Inmates released early
Some inmates have started being released early from North Carolina prisons in an effort to reduce prison populations and slow the spread of the coronavirus, officials said Monday.
Officials are considering releasing about 500 inmates. None have been convicted of a violent crime and all are scheduled to be released this year.
Those who are released early will still be supervised.
Field hospital requested
Atrium Health and Novant Health want Mecklenburg County to build a field hospital to accommodate 600 patients in Charlotte. The request has led some elected leaders to ask whether tax money should cover a portion of the costs.
The county has the state’s highest number of patients who tested positive for COVID-19, and cases are expected to surge, The Charlotte Observer reported Sunday.
Inmate dies at Butner
An inmate at the Federal Correctional Complex at Butner died from coronavirus complications over the weekend, officials said on Sunday.
Charles Richard Rootes, 81, had pre-existing conditions and was put on a ventilator on March 27, the day after he was taken to the hospital after going into respiratory failure.
More than 40 inmates and 22 workers at the medium-security facility have tested positive for the virus, officials say.
Nursing home outbreaks
Coronavirus outbreaks were reported at three long-term care facilities in Durham, health officials said Monday.
Fifteen cases were reported at Durham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, four were reported at Durham VA Healthcare System Community Nursing Home and four were reported at Treyburn Rehabilitation Center.
Two coronavirus-related deaths reported Monday were linked to a nursing home in Franklin County. Officials said Louisburg Nursing Center had 47 cases of the virus among staff and residents.
The number of reported coronavirus cases at a Chatham County nursing home has grown to 57, health officials said Sunday.
All residents and staff at The Laurels at Chatham were tested for the virus after the facility initially reported six cases last week.
In Wake County, the number of reported cases at Wellington Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Knightdale grew from four Thursday to 47 Sunday.
In Cabarrus County, at least 14 people have tested positive for the coronavirus at Five Oaks Rehab in Concord, officials said Sunday.
More than 300 residents and workers at the facility were tested for the virus. Nearly 200 of those tests are pending.
Health officials have identified 28 coronavirus outbreaks at nursing homes and seven at residential care facilities across North Carolina.
Group demands fewer restrictions
A North Carolina group is criticizing the governor’s response to the coronavirus and demanding restrictions be lifted and businesses allowed to reopen.
But state leaders say the measures in place are necessary and working to slow the spread of COVID-19.
The group started a Facebook page on April 7 that now has more than 15,000 members.
The stay-at-home order is in effect until April 29. Cooper says he will consider scientific modeling on the spread of the disease and economic factors when deciding whether to extend it.
The governor said in a news conference Monday that a “wholesale lifting” of coronavirus orders would be catastrophic for North Carolina.
“What we are doing is working,” he said in the conference. “We are saving lives. Complacency is our biggest enemy.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 7:13 AM.
