Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 11
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Death toll passes 3,000
At least 182,286 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 3,023 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 1,532 new COVID-19 cases, up from 1,222 reported the day before.
Thirty-three deaths were also reported Friday, though not all 33 occurred on the same day. The state counts them as they are reported.
On Wednesday, the most recent day with available information, 5.3% of COVID-19 tests were reported positive. Health officials say that number should ideally be 5% or lower.
At least 938 people in North Carolina were reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday, with 93% of hospitals reporting.
Judge won’t reinforce order for state prisoners
Wake County Superior Court Judge Vince Rozier denied a request Friday for court-ordered enforcement of a previous ruling designed to protect people in state prisons from COVID-19.
”The Court is concerned with the rights, health and wellbeing of all North Carolinians, and as such, has considered these allegations with solemnity,” he wrote in a ruling Friday. “Upon consideration of the record before this Court, specifically the verified and supported data, there is not enough evidence to support an enforcement or show cause order.”
Rozier ruled in favor of several civil rights groups when he issued a preliminary injunction on June 18 finding they were likely to “succeed in proving the state’s actions had resulted in cruel and unusual punishment.”
He ordered North Carolina to put in place several protective measures such as widespread testing as well as reopening the application process for early release programs, The News & Observer reported.
Those civil rights groups argued last month the state has failed to comply with the order. An attorney for North Carolina, meanwhile, said the state approached the order “in good faith.”
Few closed businesses get business grants
Only 66 of the 665 businesses that applied for the legislature’s $60.5 million COVID-19 grant program for struggling small businesses belong to the state’s hardest hit industries, The News & Observer reported.
Requirements for businesses applying to the Job Retention Grant Program included maintaining at least 90% of their workforce when the coronavirus pandemic first hit, meaning many restaurants, bars and entertainment venues that shuttered and laid off employees don’t qualify.
But Lauren Horsch, a spokeswoman for Senate leader Phil Berger, told The N&O it was unrealistic to expect such a massive bailout for the restaurant industry.
“The food and beverage industry in North Carolina employs 11% of the state’s workforce and contributes tens of billions of dollars to the state’s GDP,” she said in an email. “There is no amount of taxpayer money that can support such a massive industry during a sustained shutdown like what Gov. Cooper ordered and continues to maintain.”
According to a breakdown of the applications by industry sent to The N&O, nonprofits accounted for the largest percent of applicants at 23% while manufacturing companies comprised another 20%.
Small businesses in the “professional and technical services,” “retail” and “transportation and warehousing” industries submitted less than 50 applications per category.
“Only 35 businesses from the hard-hit food service and lodging industries applied, and only 21 businesses from the ‘arts, entertainment and recreation’ category are seeking a grant,” The N&O reported.
Biotech company could have COVID-19 treatment
A biotechnology startup in Research Triangle Park believes it has found an experimental treatment for the coronavirus.
KNOW Bio has shown in cell trials that “a nitric oxide solution can effectively stop SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from replicating,” The News & Observer reported.
Nitric oxide — not to be confused with nitrous oxide, otherwise known as laughing gas — is used to regulate blood flow. But researchers at KNOW Bio are “trying to determine if it can be used as an antiviral as well,” according to The N&O.
“We knew we could do something against the virus,” the startup’s leader Neal Hunter told The N&O. “We almost felt like we had a responsibility to make it happen, and now we have proven we can. It increases value from the business side, too, but people are dying every day.”
The treatment still needs to be tested in human and animal trials before it can be proven safe and effective.
Coronavirus pushes biggest NC running event online
An annual run in Charlotte is canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Instead, the SouthPark Turkey Trot — billed as the “largest road running event in North Carolina” — will be held online only this year, The Charlotte Observer reported Friday.
“Without question, COVID-19 continues to challenge our community and nation,” organizers said in a news release. “With an abundance of caution, we have decided not to gather at SouthPark mall this Thanksgiving.”
The event, which typically attracts about 9,000 people each year, will give 2020 participants the option to sign up for walks or runs at home.
Some in Triangle could have utilities turned off
Thousands of people in the Triangle who are behind on their utility bills could face shutoffs or late fees this month.
Durham’s water department will cut service starting Sept. 16 as the city looks to bring in operational money. Raleigh’s utilities department plans to start late fees on Sept. 19, The News & Observer reported Friday.
As health officials encourage people to wash their hands to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, the potential for water shutoffs raises concerns for Dr. Ibukun Akinboyo, an infectious diseases specialist at Duke Children’s Hospital and Health Center.
“This particular crisis preceeds COVID,” said Leigh Campoamor, who is working to help people in Durham catch up on their bills. “And the crisis of not being able to pay utilities and rent has obviously been exacerbated by the pandemic.”
Parents can’t attend college football games due to COVID-19
Gov. Roy Cooper’s office rejected a proposal that would have allowed parents to attend the first UNC-Chapel Hill football home game of the season.
The state is under Phase 2.5 of its plan to lift coronavirus-related restrictions, allowing up to 50 people to gather in an outdoor arena. But Kenan Memorial Stadium is in hard-hit Orange County, so attendance is capped at 25.
“I know a lot of the guys want our parents there,” UNC linebacker Chazz Surratt told reporters. “Hopefully we get that done. You know to be able to see your family in the stands, that’d be a good feeling.”
Representatives from six North Carolina schools have asked that Cooper reconsider the policy, which is in place across the state at least through September, the N&O reported. Duke University has said its athletes won’t play in front of fans.
Ivanka Trump visits NC to discuss coronavirus food plan
Ivanka Trump, daughter of President Donald Trump, visited the North Carolina State Farmer’s Market on Thursday to tout a federal program designed to provide food for hungry families during the coronavirus pandemic.
The program is backed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and supplies families and connects farmers with local food banks, The News & Observer reported.
“There were people struggling at every end of the spectrum from farmers to distributors to families who had never been to a food bank before,” Ivanka Trump said during her visit. “The ability to bring our country’s produce to those in need is so important.”
She was joined Thursday by U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and Rep. David Rouzer, a Wilmington Republican. All three wore masks, according to The N&O.
The Trump campaign — and, by extension, his family — have showed a renewed interest in North Carolina with the election less than two months away. The president visited Winston-Salem on Tuesday and Wilmington last week. His son Eric Trump also visited High Point last week.
Charlotte braces for new cases after Labor Day
Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris warned the county’s falling positivity rate, lower number of COVID-19 patients in local hospitals and declining number of new lab-confirmed cases isn’t likely to stick after the holiday weekend.
Harris told elected officials in a report Wednesday the easing of restrictions on local businesses, a return of college students and several illegal parties with too many people not wearing masks are to blame, The Charlotte Observer reported.
One business in Matthews hosted a party with more than 100 people and several nightclubs also opened, she said.
“More and more, we’re seeing people frustrated, wanting to get back to normal, and just saying, ‘Forget it. I’m done with this. I’m just going to go do what I want to do,’” Harris said.
She called videos of parties over Labor Day weekend “really terribly unfortunate.”
Dave & Buster’s announces layoffs
Dave & Buster’s locations across North Carolina are laying off more than 200 workers as the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Locations in Pineville, Winston-Salem and Cary will permanently layoff 229 employees effective Nov. 8, according to documents filed with the state Commerce Department. That includes 58 employees at Carolina Place mall in Pineville, 92 at Walnut Street in Cary and 79 at Silas Creek Parkway in Winston-Salem.
All three have been shut down by the virus but not permanently closed.
“We did not foresee how significantly and for how long a time the pandemic and related governmental lockdown orders would impact our business,” the filing stated.
White House official supports testing on college campuses
Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, told officials in North Carolina she supports widespread testing on college campuses and “lamented” people not wearing masks during her visit to the state Wednesday.
Birx met with Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, and Gov. Roy Cooper in Raleigh.
A recent report from the White House coronavirus task force labeled North Carolina in the “red zone,” citing more than 100 new cases per 100,000 people, The News & Observer reported.
But Cohen told reporters Thursday the state’s case rates are still among the lowest in the Southeast.
She said the state plateaued at a “stubbornly high rate,” but expects there will be progress if North Carolina slowly loosens restrictions and keeps social distancing measures in place.
Parents frustrated with virtual school
Some parents in North Carolina are calling for schools to reopen with in-person instruction after a month of online-only learning.
“There are families that prefer this virtual learning platform, and it may work well for them,” Erin Wall, a Cary parent, told The News & Observer. “But then I feel like there are other children who need to be in school and want to be in school.
Earlier this week, parents in Charlotte filed a lawsuit trying to force Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools to reopen. But Wake County schools said they need “grace and patience.”
“We know that this is hard,” Wake County school board Chairman Keith Sutton told parents at last week’s board meeting. “We know that this is difficult. But we’re here with you, and again we are working to open schools as soon as we can safely do so. So hang in there.”
There were 42 public comments at that board meeting regarding the possibility of schools reopening, The N&O reported.
Parents say their children are unhappy spending hours on a computer screen and it’s damaging to their mental health. with special needs have also struggled with virtual learning.
“School is not just academics,” said Sarah Baker, a Raleigh parent whose 10-year-old son is in special-education classes. “His goal is not to learn to read. It’s to learn how to use a fork. Everything about his school experience is physical and tangible.”
Deadline for DMV credentials extended
Gov. Roy Cooper extended the expiration date on drivers with commercial licenses, learner’s permits, state IDs and handicapped placards when he signed the Coronavirus Relief Act. 3.0 into law last week.
Vehicles also received an extension of their expiration dates, as did holders of inspection mechanic licenses, The News & Observer reported.
Under the new law, those DMV credentials won’t expire until 30 days after Cooper lifts the state of emergency related to the coronavirus pandemic in North Carolina. It is the second extension legislators have passed since the start of the pandemic.
SAT scores drop in NC
The average SAT score in North Carolina fell in 2020, a year when fewer students took the test and some colleges stopped requiring it due to COVID-19.
Across the state, the N.C. Department of Department of Public Instruction says the average score dropped to 1,089. That’s two points below last year’s total and 59 points above the average for public school students nationwide.
The results came after the coronavirus forced some SAT tests to be canceled last spring, The News & Observer reported Thursday.
The test was losing popularity after the state in 2012 started requiring public school students to take the ACT.
Cooper changes plan on protections for agricultural workers
Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said it couldn’t follow through on a commitment to make an executive order that would offer protections for agricultural workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
A draft of the order called for social distancing, sanitation and screening and testing for COVID-19.
Organizations had wanted a response from the state as the coronavirus pandemic “dealt a blow to the largely Latino immigrant agricultural workforce in North Carolina’s fields and meat processing plants,” The News & Observer reported Thursday.
Cooper’s office said it would address the concerns, but pushback from state agencies prevented an executive order from being enacted.
“Protecting agriculture and meat processing workers is a high priority,” spokesperson Dory MacMillan said. “While the governor and public health officials have had success on increasing some safety protocols and outbreak reporting, there remains significant disagreement among growers, state labor officials and workers about overall solutions.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2020 at 7:27 AM.
