COVID-19 cases jump in NC, as lawmakers pass relief and some businesses reopen
The state reported 11,509 positive cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, an increase of 586 cases from Friday’s total, as state lawmakers passed a bipartisan relief measure.
The 586 new cases was the largest single day increase since the virus began, and comes as testing for the virus increases. The disease has reached 98 counties.
The state’s Department of Health and Human Services also reported 420 deaths, 21 more than what was reported Friday, and 502 people hospitalized, 45 fewer than Friday.
On Saturday, the state House and Senate voted unanimously to approve a plan for spending more than $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funds, sending their bill to the governor.
Around Raleigh on Saturday, signs of reawakening began to appear.
Lake Johnson Park in west Raleigh drew so many people that it was nearly impossible to park. Both lots on Avent Ferry Road sat full and cars were squeezed together on the shoulder. Three cars waited on a single bicyclist to pack up and leave.
Groups of four crowded into Kentwood Park to play disc golf, and at North Hills, a family of children played tag on the commons.
Businesses began to reopen, inspired partly by Wake County lifting its stay-home order, which had more restrictive guidelines.
Some businesses open
North Carolina has been under a statewide stay-at-home order since March 30. Gov. Roy Cooper extended it through May 8, and plans to continue a scaled-back version of it in what he calls Phase One of the state’s reopening process. That will depend on the change in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and other measures.
Cooper and DHHS secretary Mandy Cohen said on Thursday and Friday that they remain hopeful that the state can begin Phase One in the coming week.
In Raleigh’s Cameron Village, Kannon’s Clothing put out a sandwich board on the sidewalk, announcing it was open. The mall stood empty enough, though, to park a tractor-trailer.
A West Raleigh shoe store held a 60%-off sidewalk sale, and a frame shop near downtown took customers by appointment.
Not all flung open their doors, even though they could. Bookstores may welcome customers if they keep social distance, but at Reader’s Corner on Hillsborough Street, the staff decided to sell only at the door and through its trademark 25-cent outdoor bookshelf. Some employees have health issues that make business as usual risky, the staff reported Saturday.
Simon Property Group, the largest mall operator in the U.S., which owns a mall in Smithfield — Carolina Premium Outlets — and malls in Charlotte announced on Thursday that its North Carolina properties would open on May 8, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Employees would be required to take numerous safety precautions, and shoppers would be encouraged to wear facial coverings and wash their hands frequently.
Court order on prisons
A judge on Friday ordered Cooper and other state officials to outline how they are keeping North Carolina prisoners safe from COVID-19.
State officials were also ordered to provide plans outlining steps to provide masks and access to soap and hand sanitizer, along with living conditions that allow for 6 feet of social distancing and don’t mix individuals from different housing areas.
That and other information has to be provided by 5 p.m May 8, according to the ruling by Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier signed Friday.
A hearing will be scheduled after the information is provided.
The ruling is in response to an April 20 lawsuit filed by the ACLU of North Carolina, the state NAACP, three inmates with underlying health conditions and others.
The lawsuit asked a judge to declare Cooper, Department of Public Safety Secretary Eric Hooks and other defendants’ actions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic a violation of the state constitution which prohibits cruel or unusual punishment.
The filing said that state officials’ plan to release a small percentage of state inmates wouldn’t allow for the social distancing needed to keep prisoners, many of which have underlying health conditions, safe from the respiratory illness that is known to spread in tight congregate living situations.
Rozier’s ruling found that affidavits from wardens and other state officials outlining their attempts to comply with best practices to prevent COVID-19, failed to detail differences in preventative measures based on the facilities.
“Due to the form and non-specific nature of Defendants’ affidavits, it is impossible for the Court to determine whether specific practices and procedures undertaken at each of North Carolina’s incarceration facilities comply with Defendant’s statutory and constitutional obligations,” the ruling states.
The plaintiffs were ordered to give the court and the defendants a list of local nonprofit organizations that are able to provide re-entry to recently released inmates.
As of Saturday, there had been nearly 1,000 positive cases and nine deaths associated with county jails and federal and state prisons.
Number of cases, deaths
The News & Observer is keeping a separate count of cases and deaths in North Carolina based on reports from DHHS and county health departments, which tends to be higher because the state updates its numbers once a day. The updated total reflects the number of cases with positive COVID-19 test results, but DHHS warns that the total is likely higher because not all cases are tested.
On Saturday morning, that count stood at 11,579 cases in 98 counties and 430 deaths.
Cohen said Friday that while more people continue to test positive, the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 had dropped.
The state also announced Friday that more than 1,000 people applied for 250 jobs as contact tracers since the openings were posted Wednesday afternoon, The News & Observer reported.
Contact tracing is thought to be a key step in reopening the U.S. after the coronavirus shut down most restaurants, bars, hair salons and retailers, McClatchy News has reported. Contact tracers track down people who may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19.
This story was originally published May 2, 2020 at 11:43 AM.
