As coronavirus spread slows in NC, state reverses itself and releases details on nursing homes
As the spread of COVID-19 slowed a bit in North Carolina, state leaders Monday announced a surge of cases at the state’s main prison for women, and agreed to release details for the first time on nursing home outbreaks.
The release of information on the locations of dozens of nursing homes and other group living facilities with COVID-19 outbreaks across the state comes after pressure from advocacy groups and media organizations.
The move marks a significant policy reversal for the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which for weeks has maintained that identifying facilities with outbreaks would reveal confidential health information for particular patients.
At the same time, advocates for North Carolina nursing home residents have called for proactive testing for COVID-19 in nursing homes, starting with facilities with poor federal quality ratings and low staffing.
According to an analysis of publicly available data, the virus seems to have spread more widely in facilities with low-quality ratings.
In North Carolina, more than 40 nursing homes have reported an outbreak, and 122 nursing home residents diagnosed with the disease have died, according to the state’s data dashboard Monday morning. That’s more than 40% of the statewide death toll.
When factoring in deaths from other congregate living settings, which includes nursing homes, prisons and residential care facilities, that death toll exceeds 150.
The outbreak at the North Carolina Correctional Institution for Women in Raleigh, announced on Monday, shows 70 cases of COVID-19, up from less than a dozen cases last week. All are in the prison’s minimum-security camp known as the “Canary Unit.”
More than 160 inmates in the camp were tested over the weekend, according to the N.C. Department of Public Safety. Many tested positive, but nearly 100 tested negative. Fewer than a dozen test results from the prison are pending, DPS said.
Doubling rate indicates coronavirus has slowed
The number of reported COVID-19 cases increased by more than 300 Monday, with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services now reporting cases in 95 of the state’s 100 counties.
But the doubling rate of reported coronavirus cases has increased to 15 days. That rate was 14 days as recently as Saturday and has been getting longer, indicating the spread is slowing.
Camden County reported its first positive case on Monday. The total number of cases reported by DHHS on Monday stands at 9,142, up from 8,830 on Sunday.
There have been 306 deaths reported in 60 counties, according to DHHS numbers, with 109,920 completed tests and 473 hospitalizations.
The News & Observer is keeping a separate count based on reports from DHHS and county health departments, which tends to be higher because the state only updates its numbers once a day. As of Monday, that tally stood at 9,415 cases and 336 deaths.
Wake County reported nearly 100 new cases on Monday, its largest one-day increase so far. Wake now has 764 confirmed cases, up from 674 cases reported on Sunday.
As part of the state’s efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19, DHHS secretary Mandy Cohen announced in a Monday afternoon news conference the formation of a new partnership to expand contact tracing efforts.
The Carolina Community Tracing Collaborative, a partnership with Community Care of NC and the NC Area Health Education Centers, will hire and train local staff that will support local health departments with contact tracing — a process through which public health staff work with patients to recall people they have had close contact with during the time they may have been infectious, and then warn those contacts about their exposure.
Another ReOpen NC rally, leader tests positive
The ReOpen NC group opposing Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order is planning another protest in downtown Raleigh at 11 a.m. Tuesday, this time rallying in front of the NC Legislative Building.
Members of the legislature return to Raleigh on Tuesday to open a new session.
Meanwhile, one of the leaders of the ReOpen NC group has identified herself as having tested positive for the virus.
Audrey S. Whitlock, who is an administrator on the ReOpen NC Facebook page, posted a message to the group saying she tested positive and that her quarantine period ended on Sunday.
The News & Observer’s news partner, ABC-11, reported that Whitlock confirmed she tested positive but refused comment when asked whether she attended ReOpen NC’s protests in downtown Raleigh the past two Tuesdays.
A separate message on the group’s Facebook page told followers to expect a big announcement on Tuesday: “Huge announcement at this rally!!! We need you there. You can’t afford to not be there. Invite everyone you know.”
Staff writers Steve Wiseman, Lucille Sherman, Ames Alexander, Dane Kane and Carli Brosseau contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 12:31 PM.
