Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 22
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We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 195,000
At least 195,549 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 3,286 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reported 1,168 new COVID-19 cases, up from 800 reported the day before.
Thirty-nine coronavirus-related deaths were reported Tuesday.
About 5.4% of tests were reported positive as of Sunday, the latest date for which data is available. That’s just above health officials’ goal of 5% or lower, which the state has been hovering around for about a week.
At least 905 people in North Carolina were reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, an increase from 886 the day before. Monday’s preliminary hospitalization total was listed as 885.
Wake gets conflicting messages about reopening schools
Wake County is dealing with conflicting messages from parents and teachers about whether to reopen during the coronavirus pandemic as it hopes to reach a decision next week.
The school board plans to meet Wednesday to review reopening options.
Parents are pushing for restarting in-person classes while many teachers say it’s still not safe.
“We have to make what we feel is the best decision for students, faculty, staff and the community because you have so many varying opinions from one side to the other,” school board Chairman Keith Sutton told The News & Observer on Tuesday. “Everybody has valid concerns, valid fears. Everyone is challenged and struggling in some way.”
More districts are starting to bring students back for face-to-face learning using a hybrid model to account for capacity limits. Gov. Roy Cooper last week announced he’ll allow districts to reopen their elementary schools for full-time in-person instruction starting Oct. 5.
State makes fixing mail-in ballots easier
North Carolina voters who make mistakes on their absentee ballots will now have an easier time fixing them to make sure their vote counts.
The N.C. State Board of Elections announced Tuesday it reached a settlement with a group representing retirees who sued over some of the state’s rules for mail-in voting. The settlement creates new rules for fixing mistakes and extends to the amount of time ballots can come in after Election Day and still be counted.
For the most common errors voters make on their ballots, they won’t have to request a new ballot and start the process over. Instead, they’ll be able to fill out paperwork to fix the problem. A county official will contact the person and ask them to sign an affidavit with the missing information.
Significantly more people are expected to vote by mail this year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
More than 150,000 North Carolinians had already voted by mail as of Monday. That’s nearly as many as in all of 2016. Nearly 1 million voters have requested a mailed ballot.
NC to relax restrictions on outdoor venues
Gov. Cooper on Tuesday announced North Carolina is easing coronavirus-related restrictions on stadiums.
Outdoor venues with seating with more than 10,000 can be at 7% capacity starting Oct. 2, The News & Observer reported.
Cooper said more changes to coronavirus-related restrictions could be announced early next week before Phase 2.5 expires Oct. 2.
The state is under Phase 2.5 of its reopening plan, which calls for a 50-person cap on outdoor gatherings. Orange County, home to UNC-Chapel Hill teams, has a limit of 25.
“We share this news today so those outdoor venues with seating capacity of more than 10,000 can begin preparations that are key to safely reopening their doors to have a limited amount of socially distanced fans,” Cooper said during a news conference.
The announcement came after some college football players’ parents pushed the governor to let them attend games in person. The governor’s office on Sept. 18 allowed some tickets to be issued.
The change means the Carolina Panthers could host about 5,200 fans for their second home game Oct. 4 against the Arizona Cardinals. But the capacity allowed by Mecklenburg County has not been officials decided. NASCAR would also be able to host up to 6,650 fans at the Roval 400 on Oct. 11.
This comes as a football game between Wake Forest and Notre Dame has been postponed due to several recent positive COVID-19 tests in the Irish program. The teams are working to rescheduled to game, which was set to be Saturday.
New app adds to contact tracing efforts
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday released a new app that allows users to find out if they have been exposed to someone with a coronavirus infection.
SlowCOVIDNC is available to download for free on the Google Play and Apple App stores, The News & Observer reported.
The app uses Bluetooth and push notifications to determine if a user has been close to someone who has voluntarily shared a positive COVID-19 test result. Health officials say SlowCOVIDNC is anonymous and contributes to contact tracing efforts.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, said the app was “another powerful tool to help slow the spread of COVID-19 right in their pockets.”
Wake County to help arts organizations
Arts organizations in Wake County can now seek grants to help them cover money they lost during the coronavirus pandemic.
The N.C. General Assembly this month passed the Coronavirus Relief Act 3.0, which totaled almost $1 billion. Though it provided $9.4 million to arts and culture groups, Wake and other counties with populations over 1 million were left out.
Wake County commissioners on Monday voted to put $1 million of its money from the federal CARES Act toward arts organizations, The News & Observer reported
HBCUs focus of new COVID-19 rapid testing effort
The White House has started to send rapid COVID-19 tests to historically black colleges and universities in an attempt to prevent possible outbreaks of the virus.
Dozens of HBCUs are getting the tests as President Donald Trump’s administration works toward reducing the risk of cases in “high-risk communities,” McClatchy reported.
Among the recipients are North Carolina A&T State University, the HBCU with the highest enrollment in the country. Todd Simmons, the school’s associate vice chancellor for university relations, said the federal government should first pay attention to testing at colleges that have students with disadvantaged backgrounds.
“But I would also say in the same breath, that if you look around America at the campuses that are having difficulties with COVID and coronavirus, that HBCUs and minority serving institutions more broadly, are not the places where you’re seeing the big problems,” he said.
Cooper, Forest face off over masks, reopening
Gov. Roy Cooper, a Democrat, and Republican challenger Lt. Gov. Dan Forest faced off Monday over issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic in North Carolina.
The two spoke about education priorities during an online forum and “took jabs” at each other as well, The N&O reports. They talked about the pandemic in terms of mask requirements and reopening plans.
Cooper criticized Forest for holding indoor campaign rallies during which attendees didn’t wear masks or social distance. He also criticized his calls to reopen schools without a face mask requirement.
Last week, the governor announced school districts could decide to reopen their elementary schools for full-time, in-person instruction. The plan includes a face mask requirement.
Some districts, including the Orange County school system, have considered options for bringing students back to campus.
During a news conference the day before, Forest called for the reopening of all schools and said students and staff should not be required to wear face masks. He also said if he’s elected governor, he would lift the statewide mask mandate Cooper implemented in June to mitigate the spread of the pandemic.
On Monday, Forest called Cooper’s criticisms a “character assassination.” But he stood by his comments about doing away with the mask mandate.
“I said I would lift the mask mandate, and I would,” Forest said.
New program launches to help NC business owners
A new coaching program in North Carolina aims to help small business owners struggling during the coronavirus pandemic.
The economic development nonprofit Carolina Community Impact launched the program in partnership with affiliated nonprofit Consumer Education Services Inc. It will provide business owners with business and personal credit reviews, business plan critiques and help with business financial statements.
It comes as some other programs to help people during the pandemic are set to expire.
“The reality of COVID still hasn’t really hit us yet — there’s been a lot of forbearance, there’s been a lot of deferment by creditors whether that’s on credit side or mortgage side or small business side,” Mike Croxson, CEO of Consumer Education Services, told The News & Observer. “A lot of that is coming to an end now and more and more people are going to end up in a gig kind of job for a while or they’re going to decide its time for me to go into my own business.”
Those interested in the coaching services can learn more by emailing the manager of the initiative for CCI, Joe Battle, at jbattle@ccifund.org.
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 7:13 AM.
