Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 9
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Deaths near 3,000
At least 179,532 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 2,958 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported 897 new COVID-19 cases, up from 716 reported the day before. Tuesday’s total was the lowest the state had seen since Aug. 17.
Forty-nine deaths were also reported Wednesday. That was just below the record high of 50 deaths reported on Saturday.
On Monday, the most recent day with available information, 7.1% of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. Health officials say that number should ideally be 5% or lower.
At least 916 people in North Carolina were reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, an increase from 826 the day before. Tuesday’s count had previously been reported as 827.
But the health department says it’s had problems with hospitalization data since Sept. 4 and that those numbers are likely under counted.
No new cases from RNC
Mecklenburg County Health Director Gibbie Harris said Wednesday there have been no new positive coronavirus tests related to the Republican National Convention in Charlotte since cases were initially announced in August.
Four people at the convention were diagnosed with the virus after being tested for it when they arrived. Fourteen others were potentially exposed and asked to quarantine. Harris said no new cases have been reported since, but tracking will continue for 21 days after the event.
“That’s the good news,” Harris told county commissioners Wednesday.
The RNC was the largest indoor event held in Charlotte since the start of the pandemic, prompting concerns it would exacerbate the spread of the virus. An “after-action” report of the full impact of the convention will take weeks, The Charlotte Observer reports.
Iconic Christmas lights display to be trimmed
McAdenville’s Christmas lights display will be trimmed down this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, officials said Wednesday.
The display in “Christmas Town USA” is in its 65th year and attracts around 500,000 visitors each year, The Charlotte Observer reports.
The event will go on from Dec. 1-26 but its hours have been cut from 5:30-10 p.m. each night. Additionally, the tree-lighting and yule-log ceremonies have been canceled. Trees will be lit downtown from Pharr Family YMCA to the Spruced Goose Restaurant on Wesleyan Drive.
“Christmas Town U.S.A. will continue in 2020, but in a compliant manner,” Christy Gliddon, Pharr executive vice president for human resources, said in a statement. “We want folks to feel safe in McAdenville as they enjoy this spirited tradition.”
NC State reports cluster as UNC-Chapel Hill launches tests
N.C. State University on Tuesday reported new COVID-19 cases at an off-campus apartment complex.
Ten students tested positive for the virus, marking the first time since late August that the Raleigh school reported a coronavirus cluster. Students had been ordered to leave residence halls by Sept. 6. Since classes started in August, N.C. State reported 32 COVID-19 clusters, with students getting infections in on- and off-campus housing.
The new cases come as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill on Wednesday started a program that gives students without symptoms the option to get daily tests for COVID-19.
Prospective Evaluation Testing is meant to help stop the spread of the virus among students in dorms, The News & Observer reported Tuesday. The program will later offer voluntary tests for students who are in Chapel Hill or Carrboro but don’t live on campus.
Also at UNC-Chapel Hill, football players will be tested each week they play games, the N&O reported.
About 1,000 people are still living on campus after the school last month told students to stop their housing contracts, with some exceptions. Several coronavirus clusters had been reported at the school’s dorms.
The impacts of the virus have varied at universities across the state. While UNC, N.C. State and East Carolina University in Greenville moved classes online shortly after the start of the semester, other universities are “staying the course.”
“My sense is that there are multiple other institutions in the system where the numbers are not trending the right direction, but they have not yet reached that crisis moment that played out at UNC-Chapel Hill,” Kevin McClure, a higher education professor at UNC-Wilmington, told The N&O.
School choice expansion has mixed reactions
Legislation recently passed by North Carolina lawmakers expands school choice options during the coronavirus pandemic, and reactions have been mixed.
The school choice provisions were included in the Coronavirus Relief Act 3.0, which passed in the Republican-led General Assembly last week and allocates nearly $1 billion in federal relief funds. The act also includes stimulus checks for parents, among other things.
It provides more access to private school voucher programs and allows up to 3,800 more students attend the state’s two virtual charter schools. While some have said it’s good for parents, other have expressed concerns about hurting public schools.
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, has said he will sign the bill despite being unhappy with parts of it because the state needs support during the pandemic.
The package also includes a provision that loosens licensing requirements for child care facilities in the state during the coronavirus pandemic — another component that has raised concerns as it will allow some facilities to operate during the school day with little oversight during states of emergency.
Attractions set to reopen
As North Carolina has moved into Phase 2.5 of Cooper’s reopening plan, some attractions in the state have announced plans to reopen.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame said Tuesday it would start welcoming guests again this month. The Uptown Charlotte facility plans to reopen to the public Sept. 16, with limited capacity and a face mask requirement.
The N.C. Museum of Art says it’s reopening galleries Wednesday, and the N.C. Museum of History says it’s reopening Thursday. The N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences will open Sept. 22 and will require free, timed tickets for visitors.
Most YMCA of the Triangle branches will also open Wednesday but sitting rooms, showers and locker rooms will remain closed.
Phase 2.5, which started Friday afternoon, allowed more businesses in the state to reopen, including gyms, museums and aquariums. But bars must remain closed.
This story was originally published September 9, 2020 at 6:54 AM.
