Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on July 31
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
New daily cases near record high
At least 122,148 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 1,924 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported an additional 1,954 cases of the virus, down from 2,344 the day before. The total is near the single-day record of 2,481 cases reported July 18.
Officials on Friday also reported 21 additional deaths.
More than 1.75 million tests for COVID-19 have been completed in North Carolina. About 8% of all tests were positive, the health department reported Friday.
North Carolina is among the states in the White House coronavirus task force’s “red zone” because it added more than 100 cases per 100,000 people between July 18-24. But the state’s positive test rate is in the “yellow zone” as it falls between 5% and 10%.
Hospitalizations drop after record highs
At least 1,229 North Carolinians were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 on Friday, down 7 from Thursday’s count. Hospitalizations have dropped after two consecutive record highs on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The single-day total was down from 1,272 hospitalizations reported Wednesday and 1,239 reported Tuesday.
Reported hospitalizations haven’t dropped below 1,000 since July 4.
Passengers complain at CLT airport
Some passengers flying through Charlotte Douglas International Airport told The Charlotte Observer they don’t feel safe because of the lack of social distancing and mask wearing.
Gov. Roy Cooper’s June 24 executive order requires face coverings to be worn in public, but Aviation Director Brent Cagle said the airport won’t keep anyone from entering the airport if they aren’t wearing a mask.
“You have to stand next to people who’ve got no mask on or their nose hanging out,” Austen Kendall, who flew into Charlotte earlier this month, told the Observer. “I felt like there was a potential for me to get the coronavirus.”
Others said the airport “felt like business as usual” with no social distancing and crowds filling the terminals. Some passengers were only putting their masks on to get on the plane and took them off as soon as they got into the airport, another traveler said.
Charlotte Douglas told the Observer in a statement Wednesday “that it provides face coverings to those who need them, has signs throughout the facility reminding passengers to wear face coverings and social distance, and has added protective screening in CLT’s security screening lanes.”
812 unknown businesses received COVID-19 loans
A total of 812 small businesses in North Carolina have requested money through a state-funded small business coronavirus loan program known as the Rapid Recovery Loan program.
But no one knows who they are, The News & Observer reported.
The program, administered by the Golden LEAF Foundation, the N.C. Rural Center and several other partners, is not disclosing recipient’s names, but it has released data indicating 98% of the money went to businesses with less than 100 employees.
At least 63% went to “minority or female owned” businesses, The N&O reported.
“Since the program is a repayable business loan and not a grant, and due to individual confidentiality agreements that NC COVID-19 Rapid Recovery lending partners sign with small business owners at the time of their loan, we are obligated to protect the privacy and personal information of our clients,” said Todd Brantley, a spokesman for the Rural Center.
Charlotte colleges go virtual
Queens University of Charlotte and Johnson C. Smith University will hold classes entirely online during the fall semester with no face-to-face instruction, citing an increase in the number of coronavirus cases in the area.
JCSU had initially planned to bring students back to campus, The Charlotte Observer reported. But JCSU President Clarence Armbrister said “the risk of an outbreak on campus which cannot be contained are considered to be unacceptable.”
UNC Charlotte and Davidson College are set to open in-person in August.
The first students at N.C. State University in Raleigh started moving in Friday, The News & Observer reported.
Financial benefits available for some in isolation
Gov. Roy Cooper plans to announce a $17 million program designed to offer financial support for individuals in COVID-19 isolation who can’t work, The News & Observer reported.
The program will cover 20 counties, including Durham, Johnston, Chatham and Mecklenburg.
Those counties “were chosen based on their high per-capita case rates,” Zack Wortman, chief operating officer for Human Services at DHHS, told the N&O.
Qualifying individuals will receive a one-time wage replacement totaling $400 — or twice that if the person has a dependent — through the program. They will also receive home-delivered groceries, transportation, medicine delivery as well as masks and cleaning supplies.
University housekeepers raise concerns
As students prepare to move onto campus across the UNC system, housekeepers are sounding the alarm over concerns of the coronavirus spreading.
“It’s a scary feeling, needing this job, but not feeling like it’s safe,” UNC-Chapel Hill housekeeper Jermany Alston said. “It is a lose-lose situation, and there’s no way around it.”
Housekeepers at UNC-CH delivered a petition with more than 300 signatures to their facilities manager demanding better protections for university workers during COVID-19, The News & Observer reported. In response, the university agreed to stagger shifts and allow housekeepers the right to refuse to clean an area where a student is not wearing a mask or is visibly sick.
The workers union at N.C. State University organized a march last week with a similar list of demands for safe working conditions, and employees at UNC-CH have organized a system-wide protest on Monday during their lunch break as students return to campus.
“Thousands of students are moving back on to UNC Residence Halls on Monday, August 3, as hospitalizations and confirmed positive COVID-19 cases continue to climb across the state,” a notice about the event says. “This is putting all campus workers at grave risk, and we say ‘enough is enough.’ Safe jobs, save lives!”
Pandemic shifts storm preparations
Hurricane Isaias is likely headed to the North Carolina coast early next week, and preparations will look different due to the pandemic.
The storm is expected to make landfall in North Carolina on Monday, forecasters said in the most recent update.
State leaders have warned coastal residents to move inland and, if possible, avoid shelters. Mike Sprayberry, the state director of emergency management, said coastal North Carolinians should find an inland hotel or stay with loved ones away from the coast.
Those who do need to go to a shelter should visit a state reception center, where they will be directed to a non-congregate shelter, Sprayberry said. Officials will screen those at the shelters and help them social distance.
The state is also looking for young volunteers to staff shelters. Those interested who are at least 18 can apply at redcross.org/volunteer.
This story was originally published July 31, 2020 at 6:50 AM.
