Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Aug. 5
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Reported deaths increase by 40
At least 129,288 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 2,050 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported an additional 1,127 cases of COVID-19, down from 1,629 reported the day before. Tuesday’s total had broken a four-day streak during which daily cases declined after reaching a near-record high of 2,344 last Thursday.
The state on Wednesday also reported 40 additional COVID-19 deaths. North Carolina had reached a grim milestone Tuesday, surpassing 2,000 reported coronavirus-related deaths.
More than 19,600 new COVID-19 tests were reported Wednesday.
At least 1.8 million total coronavirus tests have been completed in North Carolina. As of Wednesday, 9% were positive. A positive rate of less than 5% for two weeks is an indication the spread of the virus is under control.
Hospitalizations increase
At least 1,167 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 in North Carolina on Wednesday, up from 1,154 Tuesday.
The health department originally reported 1,166 hospitalizations on Tuesday but has since adjusted the number. Data on hospitalizations is preliminary and can be updated.
Tuesday marked the first day reported daily hospitalizations increased since reaching a high of 1,236 on Thursday, health department data show.
Monday was the first day since July 20 daily reported hospitalizations fell below 1,100. They haven’t fallen below 1,000 since July 8.
Phase Two extended
Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday extended Phase Two of North Carolina’s reopening plan through at least Sept. 11.
This is the third time Cooper has extended the phase — which was set to expire Friday afternoon — after doing so in June and again in mid-July. The state has been in Phase Two since May 22.
In Phase Two, restaurants were allowed to reopen their dining rooms at 50% capacity and personal care services were allowed to reopen with the same capacity limits. Bars, movie theaters, gyms and other businesses have been ordered closed since March.
Gatherings remain limited to 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors.
The governor has cited increasing coronavirus case rates and COVID-19 hospitalizations in his decision to keep restrictions in place. This week the state topped 2,000 COVID-19 deaths.
“Every single one of them represents a family in mourning and a community grieving their loss,” Cooper said Wednesday. “They are more than numbers on a chart — they are North Carolinians who are missed dearly.”
He’s been criticized by some state Republicans, who say the state is reopening too slow. He’s previously vetoed bills that would’ve allowed bars, gyms, bowling alleys, amusement parks and other venues to reopen.
Train services resume
The Piedmont rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte will resume Monday.
Demand for travel plummeted in North Carolina when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, but demand for passenger trains has since started to rebound. The Piedmont was making three daily round trips between Raleigh and Charlotte prior to the pandemic. Two were suspended in March and the other in May.
The daily Piedmont round trip will mark the first time it and the Carolinian have operated at the same time between the two cities since April.
Health official wants delayed UNC start
A health official is asking The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to postpone in-person instruction for at least five weeks.
Quintana Stewart, health director for Orange County, told UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz she would prefer for the school to consider virtual learning for the whole fall semester.
With in-person and online classes set to start Monday, thousands of UNC-Chapel Hill students are coming back to campus this week.
Virtual students could be tested on campus
North Carolina students who are learning online during the pandemic could have to return to school for standardized tests.
After schools didn’t receive waivers from standardized testing for the upcoming school year, state education leaders proposed “letting school districts use unused spring state exams to test students at the beginning of the school year,” The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction also has recommended bringing students back to campus for testing or waiting to test children after they return to school.
Across the state, most public school students will be learning virtually at the start of 2020-21.
State to buy new COVID-19 tests
North Carolina plans to buy thousands of COVID-19 tests that are designed to give results in 15 minutes.
The state is among at least seven that have made an agreement to buy the rapid antigen tests. North Carolina is expected to purchase 500,000 of them, The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
“Testing is key to slowing the spread of COVID-19, and I’m proud to work with other governors on this plan to help expand testing in North Carolina,” Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement.
While the tests aren’t as sensitive as those done in labs, patients can have quicker results at a cheaper cost, The N&O reported.
Decision gives second chance for mail-in voters
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered North Carolina to give new protections to people who fill out mail-in ballots.
U.S. District Court Judge William Osteen gave state leaders room to “write a more specific rule or law ‘which provides a voter with notice and an opportunity to be heard’ if there is a problem with their mail-in ballot,” The News & Observer reported.
Osteen’s decision came after challengers of a lawsuit said North Carolina hadn’t done as much at other states to address coronavirus’s impact on voting. The suit had said about 15% of mail-in ballots were rejected during March’s primary in North Carolina.
But Osteen stopped short of ordering the state to change other laws related to elections.
Promising early results from COVID-19 vaccine trials
A potential COVID-19 vaccine made in North Carolina is showing a “promising immune response” in early tests.
The possible vaccine is being made at Fujifilm Diosynth, a Research Triangle Park facility that President Donald Trump visited last week.
The company has a contract with Novavax, which shared results of Phase 1 of its trials. It studied 131 healthy adults and found all doses were “well-tolerated” and had helped participants develope antibodies, The News & Observer reported Tuesday.
Lawsuit against Cooper
As Cooper is set to decide if the state can move forward with reopening, a lawsuit brought against him by Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, a Republican running against Cooper, went before a judge Tuesday.
The suit claims the governor should have received agreement from a majority of the Council of State — which also includes the attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, agriculture commissioner, state auditor, labor commissioner, superintendent of public instruction and insurance commissioner — before issuing executive orders related to COVID-19 restrictions, including those on businesses.
Judge Jim Gale said he would rule on the case as quickly as possible, The News & Observer reported.
Carowinds to stay closed until 2021
Carowinds will remain closed for the rest of 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The amusement park in Charlotte has been closed for months and hasn’t been given an indication from local or state officials when reopening would be possible, the Charlotte Observer reported.
Carowinds has not said when it will reopen next year.
Fourth-graders to quarantine
The fourth-grade class at a private school near Raleigh must quarantine for two weeks after one student tested positive for COVID-19.
The student at the Wake Forest campus of Thales Academy who tested positive got the virus from a family member, the school said Tuesday.
Thales, which has eight campuses in North Carolina, started in-person instruction for the new academic year on July 20. Vice President Mike Pence and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos visited the school’s Apex campus last week to discuss how it reopened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Thales is not required to follow the governor’s guidelines for public schools but has safety protocols in place.
Mecklenburg considers mask enforcement program
Mecklenburg County is considering starting a program to help businesses enforce the state’s mask mandate.
County Manager Dena Diorio said at a meeting Tuesday the statewide mandate doesn’t include much enforcement language, which causes problems for law enforcement, and some businesses in the area have said they won’t enforce the mandate, citing concerns about worker safety.
Diorio plans to make a recommendation for an ambassador program to the county commissioners on Wednesday night and would like to involve people from various communities in the Charlotte area, including bilingual residents.
Cases linked to funeral
Ten people who attended a memorial service and funeral in Chatham County later tested positive for the coronavirus, and attendees may have been exposed.
County officials say between 70 and 100 people attended the memorial service held in Bonlee Recreational Park in Pittsboro on July 25, and about 250 were at the funeral at Emmaus Baptist Church on July 27.
Church leaders say attendees were required to wear masks and sit 6 feet apart.
Health officials believe the 10 people who tested positive contracted the virus before the events.
Charlotte TSA workers test positive for COVID-19
At least 15 additional Transportation Security Administration agents at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have tested positive for COVID-19.
That raises the total to 24 cases among TSA employees at the airport, including 22 who worked with passenger screening, data show.
Nationally, 1,517 TSA employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and six have died.
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 7:14 AM.
CORRECTION: This story has been updated to correct the number of new coronavirus cases from Tuesday to Wednesday to 1,127.
