Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on April 18
By Hayley Fowler and
Charles Duncan
We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date news about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 6,000
North Carolina had at least 6,310 reported cases of the coronavirus as of Saturday morning, and 174 people have died, according to state and county health departments.
The state health department reported 281 new cases on Saturday.
At least 429 North Carolinians werehospitalized with COVID-19Friday, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. That’s down from Thursday’s all-time high of 452.
Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, has the most reported cases in the state, with 1,136. The county has reported 24 deaths.
Wake County, which includes Raleigh, has 574 reported cases and three deaths. Durham County has 338 reported cases and four deaths.
The project will enable officials to see how far COVID-19 has spread statewide, he said.
“This research is part of a coordinated statewide effort to learn more about what percentage of people have no symptoms and to better understand the true number of COVID-19 infections in our state,” Cooper said.
Cases surge at NC prison
Hundreds of inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 at Neuse Correctional Institution in Goldsboro as of Friday afternoon, state prisons commissioner Todd Ishee said.
“More than 280 of 770 inmates at the Eastern North Carolina prison have tested positive for COVID-19, making it one of the hardest-hit prisons in the nation,” according to The Charlotte Observer.
“I’m just kind of sitting around, waiting to get sick,” one inmate told the Charlotte Observer by telephone a week ago. “There’s definitely a war out here. That’s how it feels. It’s kind of ground zero.” Now that inmate, Christopher Johnson, also has symptoms of COVID-19.
Outbreaks at 7 Mecklenburg nursing homes
In the Charlotte area, seven nursing homes and long-term care homes have outbreaks of the coronavirus, The Charlotte Observer reports.
More than a quarter of the deaths from the coronavirus in North Carolina have been associated with nursing homes, according to the state DHHS. At least 39 people in North Carolina have died in nursing homes and similar facilities.
Jim Maxwell celebrates his 80th birthday through the window of his assisted living facility, The Addison of Durham, with his daughter Leslie Maxwell, left, and her husband and daughter, Steve and Brooks Gardner, on Saturday, Apr. 18, 2020, in Durham, N.C. Casey Toth ctoth@newsobserver.com
Remote counties last to see cases
The last seven counties in North Carolina without any confirmed cases of the coronavirus sit in the state’s northeast corner — Camden, Hyde and Tyrell — or along the western border — Avery, Graham, Madison, Swain and Yancey.
Nearly all are considered rural communities.
Remote areas are typically less densely populated and have fewer places for people to congregate, according to Mark Holmes, director of UNC Chapel Hill’s North Carolina Rural Health Research and Policy Analysis Center,
That “can provide some protection in the early days of a pandemic,” The N&O reported.
Rural counties also tend to be older, poorer and have higher rates of uninsured residents, meaning the virus “can spread quickly and grow really fast” once a case is confirmed, Holmes told The N&O.
It also removed almost all $632 million of capital improvement projects previously approved by the legislature and instead seeks “$45 million in one-time relief to offset new expenses and lost revenue as a result of the pandemic,” The News & Observer reported.
“These revised budget requests will impact our institutions, no doubt about it,” Roper said. “But we understand North Carolina’s near-term revenue will be lean, and we are adjusting accordingly.”
Wearing a homemade mask, Regina DeLacy transfers groceries from the cart to the car at Food Lion on Saturday, Apr. 18, 2020, in Durham, N.C. Durham County and City of Durham updated their stay-at-home order Friday evening to include new requirements to wear masks in public spaces where social distancing isn’t possible, such as the grocery store, starting Monday at midnight. Casey Toth ctoth@newsobserver.com
Essential businesses
Most North Carolina businesses that applied to be considered “essential” under the state’s stay-at-home order got their wishes, The Charlotte Observer reported Friday. About 85% of roughly 4,000 businesses that sent requests to the N.C. Department of Revenue got approval.
Another 13% were allowed to keep their doors open if they followed social distancing measures, The Observer reported.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s order went into effect on March 30 to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, several non-essential businesses have remained closed.
Wake County holds out for graduation
Wake County Superintendent Cathy Moore said the district hasn’t canceled contracts for venues where some of its high schools planned to host graduation ceremonies in May and June — including the Raleigh Convention Center and N.C. State University’s Reynolds Coliseum.
“We have had discussions about alternatives should those late May, early June dates not work,” Moore said at a news conference Friday. “I really am committed to figuring out a way to provide our seniors with that milestone.”
This story was originally published April 18, 2020 at 7:31 AM.
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Hayley Fowler is a reporter at The Charlotte Observer covering breaking and real-time news across North and South Carolina. She has a journalism degree from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and previously worked as a legal reporter in New York City before joining the Observer in 2019.
