Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on June 8
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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.
Cases top 36,000
At least 36,516 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 1,041 have died, according to state and county health departments.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported an additional 938 cases of the virus, up from 921 the day before.
The state was averaging 1,032 daily cases over the last seven days as of Monday, the first time that figure had been above 1,000.
Health officials on Monday reported completing 8,847 new tests for a total of 520,113, about 10% of which have come back positive.
Hospitalizations reach record high
At least 739 North Carolina patients were in the hospital with COVID-19 on Monday, up from 696 the day before and the highest-ever daily total since the start of the pandemic, state officials say.
Monday’s count broke the previous record of 717 hospitalizations, which was set on Friday.
The state says 77% of hospitals shared patient data on Monday, compared to 87% on Friday.
Dr. David Wohl, who works in infectious disease at the UNC School of Medicine in Chapel Hill, said testing can influence the coronavirus case count, so hospitalizations are a more straightforward way to measure the spread of the virus, The News & Observer reported.
“I think that’s really the truest canary in the coal mine for us,” Wohl said last week. “If we’re seeing people get sick enough to be admitted to the hospital, that’s telling you we have not flattened the curve.”
Guidance for reopening schools
Gov. Roy Cooper said during a news conference Monday the state has finalized health guidelines to reopen its public schools later this year.
The guidelines include remote instruction options and the ability to move between that and in-person instruction as the situation evolves, Cooper said.
It also includes requirements or recommendations on social distancing and minimizing exposure to the virus, face coverings and protection for those at a higher risk, symptom monitoring, the handling of suspected or positive cases, communication, water and ventilation systems and “transportation, coping and resilience.”
Public schools in North Carolina closed and moved to remote instruction in March in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
The governor says the guidelines to reopen are based on the key benchmarks related to the spread of the virus that state health officials are monitoring.
Health officials expressed concern Monday over the state moving in the “wrong direction” in terms of benchmarks.
Racetrack gatherings
Cooper said during a news conference Monday that the state will take action regarding a racetrack that has allowed thousands of spectators to gather without social distancing or face masks if the county doesn’t.
The governor told Alamance County officials last week that they should enforce the order that limits outdoor gatherings to 25 people at Ace Speedway and the sheriff said he didn’t agree with the order but would enforce it.
But on Saturday, the speedway posted a sign saying the race was a “protest” and hosted at least 2,000 people in the stands, The News & Observer reports.
Cooper called the decision “reckless.”
“Alamance County is one of the counties that is having higher numbers than it should have, and we look forward to taking some action on this in the coming week,” he said Monday. “It’s concerning that Alamance officials have not been able to stop this. We would hope that they could, but if they can’t then the state will have to take action — which we will do this week if the local officials don’t.”
High school sports to resume
The N.C. High School Athletic Association will allow teams to start summer activities on June 15.
School districts can decide how they want to proceed, commissioner Que Tucker told The Charlotte Observer.
After the coronavirus led to the cancellation of the ACC men’s basketball tournament and other athletic events, the high school association announced in March that it was suspending sports games and practices.
New daily high over weekend
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,370 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, the single-day high since the start of the pandemic.
Saturday marked the third consecutive day the state hit a new high daily case count. On Friday 1,289 new cases were reported and on Thursday, 1,189 were reported.
The previous daily high was 1,185 reported on May 30.
North Carolina has been averaging 13,600 daily tests for the coronavirus over the last seven days as of Sunday.
Contact tracing expansion
Librarians in North Carolina will be used as contact tracers as part of the latest efforts to fight the spread of the coronavirus.
Contact tracing involves retracing the steps of each person who tests positive to find as many people as possible who might have come in contact with the infected patient. It can be done through a list of names or sometimes a mass broadcast.
Thousands of contact tracers will be required to track the spread of the virus, including residents and now local librarians. State health officials say they’re unsure exactly how many contact tracers will need to be hired, as it depends on the number of people who test positive.
Wake County officials told The New & Observer the county has trained 110 librarians to be contact tracers.
But the process will require cooperation to work.
“Contact tracing only works if people pick up the phone, return the text and get back to that person,” North Carolina state epidemiologist Zack Moore told The News & Observer.
This story was originally published June 8, 2020 at 7:10 AM.
