Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 3
Click here for updates for Sept. 4.
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 172,000
At least 172,209 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 2,803 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported 1,656 new COVID-19 cases, up from 1,129 the day before.
The health department also reported 24 additional deaths Thursday.
On Monday, the latest date available, 7.6% of COVID-19 tests were positive. State health officials have said that percentage should be 5% or lower.
At least 858 people in North Carolina were reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 on Tuesday, the most recent date available — down from 946 the day before and the lowest daily hospitalizations count since June 21, when 845 were reported.
The state on Thursday marked six months since its first reported coronavirus case on March 3.
More test positive at Durham jail
Eight more staff members and another inmate at the Durham County jail tested positive for COVID-19 during August testing.
A total of 29 cases have been reported in the outbreak, which was reported in August after roughly three months of no known cases. All staff and residents were tested after an inmate tested positive Aug. 7.
Twenty-five correctional facilities in the state have reported coronavirus cases among staff and residents.
CMS plan for in-person learning
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools leaders plan to prioritize the youngest and most vulnerable students as they debate guidelines for reopening for in-person instruction.
The plans outline three potential options for bringing students back but it has been finalized. Additionally, those who opted into the full remote learning option will not have to return if the district does switch to in-person learning.
Under the drafted plan, in-person learning could begin no earlier than mid-September, pre-K through second-grade students could return first, students with special needs and those learning English could also have in-person options first, and students would return to classrooms in phases. The return could also be paused.
The plan comes as some school districts in the Charlotte area have reported COVID-19 cases since teachers and some students have returned. Some schools have shut down while others remain open, requiring the affected people to isolate, The Charlotte Observer reports.
Ad campaign urges mask wearing
A new ad campaign from North Carolina seeks to convince more residents to wear masks to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
The ad will be rolled out in English and Spanish.
“While you can’t know who is carrying the virus, you should know that everyone who is wearing a mask has a reason to fight it,” it says.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state health department, said during a news conference Thursday that COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed Black and Hispanic communities and those who are uninsured. She said the department will continue working “with communities to bring these messages to the places and people that need this information the most.”
NC warned of contact tracing scam
N.C. Attorney General’s Office was alerted to a scam in which callers posing as COVID-19 contact tracers ask for personal information.
People across the country have reported receiving requests for their credit card and Social Security numbers, The News & Observer reported Thursday.
The people behind the alleged schemes “are exploiting fears about COVID-19 to try to gain access to people’s personal and financial information,” an attorney general spokesperson said.
Health departments have used contact tracing to inform people that they may have been exposed to the coronavirus. But contact tracers won’t request financial data or Social Security number, according to officials.
NC introduces tools to facilitate early, mail-in voting
North Carolina has made absentee voting easier as more people than usual are expected to cast their ballots by mail during the coronavirus pandemic.
The state has introduced new protocols it says will reduce the number of uncounted absentee ballots, The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday. Early voting options have expanded, and people can now request absentee ballots online.
The changes come as President Donald Trump on Wednesday encouraged North Carolinians to tested positive for COVID-19 and then again at the polls if their first ballots haven’t been counted.
But trying to vote twice in one election is illegal in North Carolina, said Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the N.C. State Board of Elections.
North Carolina will become the first state in the country to start voting for the November election after ballots are sent Friday.
At least a quarter of the state’s 100 counties are still struggling to recruit poll workers ahead of the election, according to a survey conducted last week by the State Board of Elections. Counties will employ an estimated 25,000 poll workers in “the largest community event the state will see this year,” SBE Director Karen Brinson Bell told The News & Observer.
“So many things had to be canceled because of coronavirus,” Brinson Bell said. “And yet, we’ll still assemble to carry out democracy and ensure that our elections happen.”
NC considers offering standardized tests at home
State education officials on Wednesday said they are considering letting students take standardized tests at home this spring.
Tammy Howard, director of accountability services for the N.C. Department of Public Instruction, said the possibility was shared during a State Board of Education meeting.
“We do not know what the situation will be in the spring, and we are trying to be flexible and are prioritizing student health and safety,” Howard wrote in an email.
Though the coronavirus has prompted most North Carolina school systems to start the academic year with remote learning, a return to in-person instruction is expected.
To move to at-home standardized testing, the state would have to receive approval from the federal government, The News & Observer reported.
Bill with proposed parent stimulus check heads to Cooper
The North Carolina General Assembly on Thursday passed a nearly $1 billion spending bill that includes $335 stimulus check for some parents.
The proposal, which would use the rest of the state’s federal coronavirus relief funds, goes to Gov. Roy Cooper next, The News & Observer reported.
The current version of the Coronavirus Relief Act 3.0 would send the checks to parents of children under age 18 to help offset the costs of remote learning during the coronavirus pandemic. They would go to parents who filed taxes and would be sent by Dec. 15.
The proposal allocates roughly $440 million of the $903 million in federal CARES Act money state lawmakers must spend by Dec. 30. It also includes income-eligibility caps for opportunity scholarships, which are private school vouchers, $72 million in funding for person protective equipment, $10 million toward internet connectivity and $6 million for food banks.
The bill passed 44-5 in the Senate, with five Democrats voting in opposition. The House of Representatives voted 104-10.
Wake nursing home reports more coronavirus deaths
Two residents of a Wake County nursing home with a coronavirus outbreak have died since last week.
Eighty-nine people have tested positive and 14 residents have died at Tower Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, according to the state. In Wake County, 15 nursing homes have ongoing outbreaks. An outbreak is two or more positive cases in a congregate care facility.
Statewide, health officials report 190 outbreaks at nursing homes and 103 at residential care facilities.
More TSA agents in Charlotte test positive
Nine more Transportation Security Administration workers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last month.
A total of 33 TSA employees at the airport have tested positive, 27 of whom interacted with passengers at screening stations. The most recent case reported is an employee who worked at the B and C checkpoints for eight hours on Aug. 25. The person then reported testing positive Aug. 28.
Protective barriers were installed at checkpoints in the airport in mid-August.
Nationally, 1,796 TSA employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and six have died.
More UNC cases as some community colleges aren’t reporting
Only some of North Carolina’s 58 community colleges have shared details about the virus’ spread on their campuses, The News & Observer reported Thursday.
The schools that are reporting cases have fewer infections than universities, where most infections have been linked to off-campus gatherings and spread through student housing.
Several community colleges are creating dashboards to report their COVID-19 cases, spokesperson Jane Stancill said.
Meanwhile, UNC-Chapel Hill on Thursday reported its first new on-campus coronavirus cluster in a week.
The outbreak was in Rams Village Building No. 5, an undergraduate apartment complex. The school didn’t share how many students were infected but said those linked to the coronavirus cluster are being monitored and in isolation.
The announcement came after both UNC and N.C. State University reported sharp declines in new COVID-19 cases Wednesday as students left residence halls.
UNC reported 16 new cases among students Wednesday, bringing the university’s total to more than 900 since classes started. N.C. State has a backlog of tests and has reported 885 cases since March. Neither school has reported a new cluster in almost a week. A cluster is five or more cases in close proximity.
More than 2,500 students remain on campus between the two schools, but most undergraduates left their dorms after the schools announced they were closing them as classes moved online.
Duke University in Durham so far hasn’t reported a spike in coronavirus cases. Mass testing, “student behavior and limiting campus housing and facilities” have played roles in helping to stop the virus’ spread at the school, The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
UNC-Charlotte on Tuesday reported what appears to be its first COVID-19 cluster since many students started moving back to the area.
Eight students who live off campus tested positive for COVID-19. The university did not say when they were tested but said they isolated and have since recovered. Classes start Sept. 7, but in-person instruction won’t start until Oct. 1, when students are allowed to move back on campus.
Unemployment rate up in Charlotte area
After seeing an improvement, the jobless rate went up again in the Charlotte area, according to state figures released Wednesday.
Mecklenburg County’s unemployment rate was 9.8% in July, an increase from 8.6% in June, data show. That means 60,809 people in the area were out of jobs, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Among the 100 counties in North Carolina, all but one saw an unemployment increase in July, according to figures. The rising unemployment rate corresponded with COVID-19 trends during the summer, according to Mark Vitner, a Wells Fargo senior economist. Businesses pulled back on engaging with customers, and some closed after seeing low traffic, he said.
This story was originally published September 3, 2020 at 6:50 AM.
