Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 15
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 17,446 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 666 have died as of Friday evening, according to state and county health departments.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 622 new cases of the virus, down from 691 reported the day before. Thursday’s daily total was the highest since the start of the pandemic.
Over the last seven days, the state has been averaging 466 daily cases as of Friday. That’s the all-time highest seven-day average recorded in the state.
As of Friday, 231,547 COVID-19 tests had been completed in North Carolina, up from about 219,300 on Thursday. The state is aiming to test between 5,000 and 7,000 people per day.
About 7.5% of overall tests have come back positive.
At least 492 North Carolinians were in the hospital with COVID-19 on Friday, down from 507 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.
New guidance on tests
North Carolina is expanding its guidance on who can get tested for the coronavirus, Dr. Mandy Cohen, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary, announced Friday.
Clinicians are encouraged to test anyone who thinks they have the virus, and first responders, health care workers and essential workers should have access to tests, the N&O reported.
During the news conference, Cohen also said overnight summer camps will be allowed to reopen during Phase Two — with certain restrictions.
Brooks Brothers factory closes
A Brooks Brothers factory in eastern North Carolina that employs nearly 150 workers is shutting down permanently.
In a letter to the Commerce Department obtained by The News & Observer, Brooks Brothers cited “unforeseen business circumstances” related to the coronavirus pandemic as its reason for shutting down the factory.
It’s set to close permanently on July 20, the letter states.
Are people wearing masks?
Phase one of Gov. Roy Cooper’s reopening plan began May 8. During the first week, staff at The Raleigh News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer went to 125 stores to find out how many people were out shopping, if stores were enforcing social distancing rules and whether anyone wore masks.
According to the N&O, the majority of employees were wearing a face covering — “even if they weren’t always wearing it correctly.” But half or fewer than half of all customers at retailers were wearing masks.
“Yeah, we are kind of past the point of concern,” one shopper at a TJ Maxx in Knightdale said. “We were really scared and cautious at first, but ... you have to live life and not live life in fear. We weren’t afraid to come out.”
The Charlotte Observer reported not all employees were wearing masks at more than half of the businesses staff visited.
“In nearly 1 in 5 businesses, all customers wore masks,” according to the Observer. “But at 40% of the locations, less than half of the customers had them on.”
Farmworkers test positive
Coronavirus outbreaks have been reported at four North Carolina produce farms during strawberry season. At least 46 people who worked at farms in Cabarrus, Guilford, Lee and Wake counties have tested positive for the disease.
Steve Troxler, N.C. agriculture commissioner, previously said there’s little to no chance that the coronavirus will spread through food, The News & Observer reported.
Residents say they’ll keep social distancing
North Carolinians have said they will continue to social distance after the coronavirus pandemic, according to a survey from marketing firm Chernoff Newman.
About 71% of residents said they plan to keep the habit, but only 32% said they will keep wearing masks in public.
Sheriffs won’t limit church attendance
At least two sheriffs in North Carolina have said they won’t enforce a portion of Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order that limits church attendance.
Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell and Lee County Sheriff Tracy Carter said in separate announcements this week that the order defies congregants’ constitutional freedoms.
“In regards to places of worship and being able to assemble, I believe that is the church’s decision to make and not mine or anyone else’s,” Carter said in a Facebook post Thursday.
Carter’s post came on the heels of roughly 200 protesters gathering in Raleigh to call for faith groups to be able to hold regular church services during the statewide stay-at-home order.
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.
The governor has said reopening the state too quickly will endanger public health.
Stimulus checks don’t cover expenditures
A new report by Charlotte-based LendingTree found the government’s one-time cash payments for families of four totaling $3,400 are covering less than 50% of their monthly expenditures in the Carolinas.
In Charlotte — where the median income for a married couple with two children is $116,506 and their average monthly expenses are $8,068 — the report found a stimulus check would cover no more than 42.1% of those monthly bills.
The median income in Raleigh is slightly higher at $124,611, about $8,629 of which is spent per month on expenses.
According to LendingTree, the $3,400 stimulus check would cover just 39.4% of that.
This story was originally published May 15, 2020 at 7:26 AM.
