Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on June 10
Click here for updates for June 11.
We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date news about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 38,000
At least 38,393 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 1,089 have died, according to state and county health departments.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported an additional 1,011 cases of the virus, up from 676 the day before. The state was averaging about 1,100 daily cases over the last seven days as of Wednesday.
Almost 18,000 new COVID-19 tests had been completed from Tuesday to Wednesday, for a total of 553,650 since the pandemic began, state officials said. About 8% of tests were positive.
Hospitalizations spike
Wednesday marked the third consecutive day in which a record number of daily hospitalizations was reported in North Carolina.
At least 780 North Carolinians were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Wednesday — the highest daily total since the start of the pandemic. The previous record, 774 hospitalizations, was reported the day before.
Both surpassed the prior all-time high of 739, reported on Monday.
On Wednesday, the state was averaging 725 daily hospitalizations over the last seven days, the highest seven-day rolling average reported so far.
Bill to reopen gyms, bars passes House
A bill that would allow gyms and bars to reopen at 50% capacity passed in the North Carolina House.
It passed 69-50 mostly along party lines and 36-13 in the Senate. The bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Rick Gunn, will now go to Gov. Roy Cooper and will likely be vetoed.
This is the second time the state legislature has tried to reopen businesses the governor ordered closed in March in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
House Bill 536 would have reopened bars and doubled restaurant capacity. It was vetoed by Cooper on Friday.
Gunn then updated the new bill Monday to include gyms in addition to bars and restaurants. He also introduced an amendment Tuesday that would allow the governor to close the businesses again if there’s a spike in coronavirus cases.
Concern over counties
The White House Coronavirus Task Force says it’s worried about the spread of coronavirus in a handful of North Carolina counties.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said Wednesday the state is ramping up testing and other resources to those counties and others — including Alamance, Duplin, Durham, Forsyth, Johnston, Lee, Mecklenburg and Wake counties.
The doubling rate of positive tests has shortened in some of the eight counties but lengthened in others, The News & Observer’s data show.
Doubling rate is the time it takes the case count to double. A shorter doubling time indicates a faster spread.
Of the eight counties the White House expressed concern for, the doubling time is generally decreasing in Alamance, Durham, Johnston, Mecklenburg and Wake counties. It’s recently increased in Duplin, Forsyth and Lee counties, data show.
Face masks in schools
North Carolina won’t require the use of face masks when schools reopen later this year, but some argue it should.
The state released guidance this week for reopening its public schools, which closed and moved to remote learning in March to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The guidelines do not mandate the use of masks, but they strongly recommend it and leave the decision up to schools.
But some teachers and families say they won’t return to school unless there’s a vaccine and face coverings are required, The News & Observer reports Wednesday.
“We can’t risk it,” Kirsten Ozimek, a Cary mother with three children, one of whom is immune-compromised, told The News & Observer. “For our family, I know that it’s a deal-breaker.”
Legal action against speedway
The state said Wednesday it’s taking legal action against a speedway that had repeatedly violated an executive order that prevents mass gatherings.
Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday ordered the racetrack, Ace Speedway in Alamance County, where thousands have gathered without social distancing or face masks, to close, calling it an “imminent hazard.” Outdoor gatherings of more than 25 people are prohibited.
Cooper and Cohen, the state’s top health official, said in an order that the track could open again if it submits a plan to adhere by state guidelines that is approved by the state health department, The News & Observer reported Tuesday.
The order required Ace Speedway to notify the public by 5 p.m. Tuesday that upcoming races and events are canceled until June 26. No such announcement was posted on its website or social media by the deadline. The owners were also supposed to respond to state health officials, letting them know they’ve closed.
“We haven’t been notified that they’ve been closing so that will escalate to some additional legal steps we take in court,” Cohen said during a news conference Wednesday. “And I believe there will be a hearing on that tomorrow. So we will let the lawyers take that from there.”
The governor said earlier this week that the state would take action against the speedway if Alamance County didn’t enforce statewide orders. The sheriff said he would enforce the order despite disagreeing with it.
But on Saturday, the speedway posted a sign saying the race was a “protest” and hosted at least 2,000 people in its stands, The N&O reported — a decision Cooper called “reckless” on Monday.
Judge denies gym owners’ request
A Wake County judge denied a request from fitness center owners who wanted a temporary restraining order against Gov. Roy Cooper. The order would have allowed them to reopen their businesses, which are currently closed under the second phase of the governor’s statewide plan to lift coronavirus-related restrictions.
Gym owners last month sued Cooper and accused him of “violating their constitutional rights,” The News & Observer reported.
GOP to move convention from Charlotte
Republican officials have chosen to move their party’s national convention from North Carolina to Florida, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.
The decision comes after N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, said coronavirus-related restrictions meant he couldn’t guarantee full capacity at the convention. The event had been scheduled to kick off Aug. 24 at Spectrum Center in Charlotte.
President Donald Trump last week posted on Twitter that Republicans would search for another state that would allow the event, which was expected to draw about 19,000 attendees.
Officials have chosen to hold the convention in Jacksonville, Florida, with some portion in Charlotte.
Hospital bill introduced
A state senator on Tuesday introduced a bill that would allow hospital patients to choose a person who can visit them. The proposal, called “No Patient Left Alone,” was under discussion after North Carolina hospitals limited visitors to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Sen. Warren Daniel, the Burke County Republican who introduced the proposed legislation, was among the people who told stories of patients who were in the hospital by themselves. A vote on the bill is scheduled for Thursday.
Concerns over benchmarks
Health officials say North Carolina is trending in the wrong direction in terms of the benchmarks they’ve been monitoring on the spread of the virus. They’re urging more people to get tested.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. DHHS, said earlier this week that anyone who has attended mass gatherings, including protests, and those who are around a lot of people at work should be tested regardless of whether they have symptoms. A department memo also suggested that anyone with symptoms, anyone who has had close contact with someone who has the virus and those at a higher risk should be tested.
Benchmarks being monitored include lab-confirmed cases, the percentage of positive tests and hospitalizations.
Mecklenburg County needs to test 20,000 residents daily to slow the spread of the virus, County Manager Dena Diorio told local officials in an email Monday, The Charlotte Observer reported. That’s about 10 times the number of tests currently being administered.
Prison transfers resume
North Carolina prisons started transferring inmates from county jails on Monday for the first time since early April.
Experts are concerned that doing so will increase the risk of further spread in the prisons, and documents obtained by reporters across the state show inmates with symptoms have been transferred to facilities since the start of the outbreak, The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.
A North Carolina judged ruled the same day transfers resumed that by June 22 prisons must come up with a plan to test every inmate for COVID-19. The transfer of inmates between prisons must also be “sharply” limited, Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier ruled.
The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed by civil rights groups including the ACLU of North Carolina and the NAACP, which argued that inmates have been left vulnerable to the virus due to the actions of prison leaders.
The state has tested about 6% of inmates thus far, a much lower percentage than other states.
State prison officials say inmates undergo temperature checks and screenings before being transferred and that all inmates transferred to new facilities must quarantine for 14 days. But some experts say that’s not enough.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 7:06 AM.
