Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 14
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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.
Reported cases and deaths
At least 16,696 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 637 have died as of Thursday afternoon, according to state and county health departments.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported 691 new cases of the virus, a jump from 470 reported the day before and the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic.
Over the last seven days, the state has been averaging 444 daily cases as of Thursday. That’s a slight decrease from the all-time high seven-day average of 457 on May 11.
As of Thursday, 219,268 COVID-19 tests had been completed in North Carolina, up from about 210,500 on Wednesday. The state is aiming to test between 5,000 and 7,000 per day.
It was averaging about 7,200 tests per day as of Tuesday.
About 7.6% of overall tests have come back positive.
At least 507 North Carolinians were in the hospital with COVID-19 on Thursday, down from 521 the day before.
Avery is still the only one of North Carolina’s 100 counties that hasn’t reported a case of the virus. At least one death has been reported in 73 counties.
State hitting benchmarks
Gov. Roy Cooper said in a news conference Thursday that North Carolina’s efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus have been working.
The state is in Phase One or reopening, which started on May 8 and will last until at least May 22. Officials say trends will need to continue in a positive direction to move into Phase Two.
“Our COVID-19 decisions are guided by the data and science,” Cooper said in the conference. “We’ll use the time in this phase to keep a careful eye on the indicators before we are ready to announce the start of Phase Two.”
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services, said in the news conference North Carolina is in “good shape” in nearly all benchmarks, which include hospitalizations and the number of cases identified by test and surveillance.
Another protest
Protesters gathered in Raleigh on Thursday to call for faith groups to be able to hold regular church services during the statewide stay-at-home order. About 200 people participated in the rally outside the state Legislative Building.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to reopen the state allows indoor church services for up to 10 people. The state suggests worshipers gather outside or in several smaller services, unless the religious group’s beliefs make that “impossible,” The News & Observer reported.
Bill targets executive orders
A group of Republicans in the N.C. House of Representatives on Thursday filed a bill that would make several of Gov. Roy Cooper’s coronavirus-related executive orders powerless.
The proposal would let all businesses, including hair salons and dine-in services at restaurants, reopen in violation of Cooper’s orders with virtually no consequences.
But the governor has said reopening the state too quickly will endanger public health.
Hospital data gaps
Some North Carolina hospitals are not consistently reporting their number of coronavirus patients to state health officials, leading to gaps in the data.
Hospitals don’t always respond to a voluntary daily survey, and not having data from bigger facilities can impact statewide figures, according to an investigation by The News & Observer, The Charlotte Observer and other media outlets.
More than 100 medical centers have shared information with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, which is tracking COVID-19 patients, as well as ventilator and hospital bed usage.
Hospitals given remdesivir
Seven North Carolina hospitals have been given a supply of coronavirus treatment drug remdesivir.
The company that developed the drug, Gilead Sciences, donated its supply to hospitals across the United States. North Carolina received 400 vials, which were given to hospitals in Wake and Orange counties, Durham, Greensboro, Greenville and Winston-Salem.
The drug, which is administered through an IV, has been shown to shorten recovery times for COVID-19 patients by up to four days.
North Carolina was given enough supply for about 36 10-day treatment courses. The drug was distributed based on the number of hospitalizations in the state.
Requests for exemptions from orders
Officials from eight eastern North Carolina counties want to be able to reopen on their own schedules.
In a letter to Gov. Roy Cooper last week, the bipartisan group requested to be exempted from his coronavirus-related orders. The letter was signed by county commissioner chairpersons in Beaufort, Carteret, Craven, Jones, Lenoir, Onslow, Pamlico and Wayne counties.
“Our rural geography and low population density should not be lumped together with much larger urban counties that face very different challenges,” the letter read. “We all agree that the most recent data clearly reflects that the curve in Central Eastern North Carolina has flattened and that our timing for reopening should be much sooner than other parts of North Carolina.”
Raleigh, Durham poised to recover
Raleigh and Durham made the list of U.S. cities with the best chances to bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a report from Moody’s Analytics.
The report says that people who live through the pandemic may consider living in cities that offer more space to spread out over those that are more crowded.
“Places that are more spacious, rely more heavily on car travel, and provide ample access to single-family housing are likely to emerge as more attractive as a result, especially among those who choose to bypass the highly urbanized Northeast,” Adam Kamins, senior regional economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in the report.
Another salute to healthcare workers
The Flying For The Flag Bandit Flight Team will do flyovers in North Carolina again this week as a salute to health care workers amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The flyovers, at hospitals in the state, will start in the Triangle on Thursday. They’ll also be held in Moore County on Saturday, Greensboro and Winston-Salem on May 19 and Charlotte on May 21.
Those watching the flyovers should still social distance and avoid gathering in large groups.
“I expect there will be a lot of people turning out from a distance,” Wanda Jackson, Bandit Flight Team director of marketing, told The News & Observer on Wednesday. “There’s no need to be at a specific location because the flight path is going to go literally all over the Triangle.”
This story was originally published May 14, 2020 at 7:24 AM.
