Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on July 9
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We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
More than 2,000 new cases reported
At least 79,349 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 1,461 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported an additional 2,039 cases of the virus, up from 1,435 reported the day before and the second-highest single-day total since the start of the pandemic.
Officials reported 20 additional deaths on Thursday.
On Wednesday, officials reported completing 21,051 daily tests, an increase from 12,854 reported Tuesday. More than 1.12 million total tests have been completed in North Carolina as of Thursday.
Ten percent of completed COVID-19 tests were positive Tuesday. The percentage has stayed in the 8% to 10% range but should ideally be closer to 5%, health officials have said.
“I continue to be concerned that North Carolina’s key COVID-19 metrics are moving in the wrong direction,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, N.C. DHHS secretary, said during a Tuesday news conference. “Daily case counts are up and the percent of tests returning positive has stayed high.”
Hospitalizations break record again
The number of North Carolinians reported hospitalized with COVID-19 reached another single-day high Thursday, with 1,034.
Thursday’s total surpassed the previous record of 994 hospitalizations reported the day before and marked the fourth consecutive day of record-breaking daily hospitalizations.
More than 900 daily hospitalizations have been reported in North Carolina each day since June 30.
Despite a surge in cases and hospitalizations, officials say there are still hospital beds available in the state. About 21% of inpatient beds and 20% of intensive-care unit beds were open as of Thursday, data show.
“While we’re seeing hospitalizations go up we’re actually seeing ICU utilization stay the same, so that is a good sign,” Cohen said Tuesday.
Details on schools, Phase Three coming next week
Gov. Roy Cooper on Thursday said he will announce a plan next week for reopening North Carolina schools and details about Phase Three of the state’s reopening plan.
Options for reopening schools include returning full time, remote instruction only or a mix of in-person and online.
The governor was set to announce the statewide plan last week but said July 1 he was not ready to do so.
Phase Three of the state’s reopening plan is tentatively set to start July 17. However, Cooper has not decided if that will happen. The coronavirus continues to spread in North Carolina and though it isn’t a “surging hot spot” like other areas, Cooper said, it could become one.
North Carolina has been in Phase Two of reopening since May 22. It was originally set to move into Phase Three on June 26 but on June 24 Cooper extended the second phase for at least three more weeks, keeping some businesses in the state closed and continuing to limit gatherings to 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors.
Some gyms reopen despite order
Some gyms in North Carolina have reopened despite being barred from doing so under Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan — citing a loophole.
Phase Two allows indoor fitness facilities to open only for people who are prescribed exercise from their doctor or a medical professional. But gyms are citing the Americans with Disabilities Act and saying no one is required to disclose their medical conditions or disabilities.
The act protects peoples’ medical privacy and prohibits them from being forced to disclose conditions or disabilities, according to Chuck Kitchen, an attorney representing a group of N.C. gym owners in a pending suit against Cooper.
“The person using the facility is not required to disclose any medical information or disabilities to the owners of the gym,” Kitchen told The Charlotte Observer.
But a spokesperson for the N.C. DHHS told The Observer on Thursday that the medial exemption is supposed to be “very limited” and that gyms can’t resume normal business.
“Our office is not aware of any law, rule or regulation, including the Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”), which would prevent” gyms from requiring a doctor’s note from customers, she said.
County to limit dining, alcohol sales
Orange County in the Triangle announced Thursday that it will limit the alcohol and dining room sales of local restaurants starting this week in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Starting 5 p.m. Friday, restaurants, private clubs and other food-service establishments in the county will be barred from selling alcohol after 10 p.m. The rule will also limit them from providing off-site table service after 10 p.m. and require that customers be kept from sitting or standing at bars.
Take-out, delivery and drive-thru services can still be offered. Grocery stores, ABC stores and convenience stores are not included.
Cooper announces new initiative
The governor announced on Thursday a new initiative that will send up to 250 health workers to counties with high numbers of coronavirus cases.
“These health workers will work closely with local health departments and contact tracers and be responsible for connecting North Carolinians to medical and social support resources,” Cooper said.
The plan will include testing and primary and mental health care and would help people find safe places to quarantine if they test positive for the virus.
Experts disagree with Forest’s mask comments
After a rerecent speech, N.C. Lt. Gov Dan Forest told the Hendersonville Times-News studies had shown face masks aren’t effective at helping to stop the spread of viruses.
Disease experts countered that narrative, saying research has shown face coverings are a tool that can reduce COVID-19 transmission, according to a fact check from The News & Observer.
Forest, a Republican, is running to unseat Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat who issued a statewide mask mandate.
A spokesperson for Forest’s campaign pointed toward two studies that supported his statements, including one from researchers who later said the intent of their study was to encourage more mask wearing.
Cases linked to courthouses
Everyone who recently visited Durham or Wake County courthouses is asked to watch out for symptoms of the coronavirus after employees tested positive for the disease.
Contact tracing efforts are in place, so local health officials will contact people who may have been exposed, according to memos on the N.C. Judicial Branch website.
In Durham County, a person who last worked Monday has tested positive for COVID-19.
In Wake County, another patient who had “minimal contact with the public” was last in the Justice Center on June 29, The News & Observer reported. People working for agencies within the same building also tested positive.
Concern about virtual NC college classes
International college students in North Carolina are concerned that online classes due to the coronavirus pandemic could mean deportation.
The students could be forced to leave the United States if classes are entirely online in the fall semester under new guidelines announced this week by immigration authorities.
The U.S. Department of State won’t issue visas to students who are enrolled in schools fully online during the fall semester, and they won’t be allowed in the country, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced this week.
Additionally, students already in the United States will either have to leave the country or transfer to a school with in-person instruction.
Most universities in North Carolina — including UNC, Duke and N.C. State — plan to have some in-person instruction in the upcoming semester. But some fear what could happen if that changes.
“The looming threat is what if the coronavirus does exacerbate late in the fall and Duke and other schools do end up going virtual,” Dennis Wang, a junior at Duke University who is from Canada, told The News & Observer.
Cases at college athletics departments
The Atlantic Coast Conference on Thursday announced fall Olympic Sports won’t compete until at least Sept. 1. The announcement came as coronavirus cases were reported in the athletic departments at N.C. State University and UNC-Chapel Hill.
N.C. State on Thursday said 315 athletes and employees have been tested for the virus since May 29. Five people tested positive for COVID-19 and went into isolation, The News & Observer reported.
The school, which is in its second phase of bringing athletes back to campus, said it doesn’t plan to suspend workouts.
On Wednesday, an outbreak was reported among athletes at UNC-Chapel Hill. The university says 429 athletes, coaches and staff were tested for the virus, and 37 were positive.
The football team’s voluntary off-season workouts will pause for at least one week due to the outbreak.
UNC athletes returned to campus last month and were tested for the virus upon arrival.
The athletes who tested positive will quarantine for 14 days either in their permanent residence hall or in one specified by the university.
Override votes in legislature fail
The North Carolina General Assembly on Wednesday fell short of overriding Gov. Roy Cooper’s vetoes of multiple bills related to his coronavirus executive orders.
Override votes on bills to reopen gyms and skating rinks in North Carolina both failed Wednesday, one in the House and one in the Senate. The businesses, and others, have been required to remain closed under Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan.
Additionally, the legislature failed to override the governor’s veto of a bill that would have required the governor to obtain agreement from the Council of State, which is majority Republican, to declare a state of emergency.
On Wednesday morning, about 25 ReopenNC protesters gathered outside the legislature calling for Cooper’s impeachment. But Speaker of the House Tim Moore, a Cleveland County Republican, told group leader Ashley Smith, “We’re just a few months from an election. ... The voters will get to decide.”
Wake families face choice on virtual school
Wake County families have the option for virtual school in the fall, but those who choose it will have to stick with it for at least one semester.
The Wake Virtual Academy is being created for those uncomfortable going back to in-person school prior to the availability of a COVID-19 vaccine. Registration starts Friday, and thousands of students could use the option. Families will remain enrolled in their current school if students attend the academy.
Now the Wake County school system is giving more information about the option.
“Students who choose fully online instruction will remain in that setting through the fall semester,” it posted online Wednesday. “Students may return to their classroom setting in the spring semester, if space permits. The recommendation is that students enrolled in the WCPSS Virtual Academy remain for the entire school year. “
North Carolina school districts are preparing to reopen under health requirements from the state that limit the number of students allowed on campus. Schools are required to develop three reopening plans: for minimal social distancing, moderate social distancing and all-remote learning.
The governor is expected to decide in July which statewide plan to use, and school districts will be able to implement a more restrictive plan if they feel it’s necessary. Districts are expecting to use Plan B, which calls for moderate social distancing, but approaches could vary, The N&O reports.
Outbreak at Raleigh nursing home
A coronavirus outbreak was reported Wednesday at a Raleigh nursing home.
Twenty residents and 16 staff members at Litchford Falls Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center have tested positive for the virus. The facility is one of three Wake County elder-care facilities with new outbreaks, according to the data from N.C. DHHS made public Tuesday.
Smaller outbreaks were reported by the state Tuesday at Cary Health and Rehabilitation, a nursing home, and Sunrise of North Hills, an assisted-living facility. Wake County on Wednesday also announced an outbreak at The Oaks at Whitaker Glen-Mayview in Raleigh. The county said staff members tested positive, but did not say how many are affected.
Statewide, 134 nursing homes and 77 residential care facilities have outbreaks of the virus, data show. More than 4,600 COVID-19 cases and 680 deaths have been reported at nursing homes and more than 1,300 cases and 119 deaths have been reported at residential care facilities.
Feds warn of bogus mask exemption cards
The federal government on Wednesday warned against fake face mask exemption cards popping up around North Carolina.
Face masks are required in public in North Carolina under a mandate issued by Gov. Roy Cooper in an effort to slow the spread of the coronavirus. There are some exceptions, including for young children and people who have certain medical conditions.
But fake documents claiming a person doesn’t have to wear a mask have reportedly popped up in North Carolina and other states. Some include a U.S. Department of Justice seal but weren’t issued by the agency.
This story was originally published July 9, 2020 at 6:52 AM.
