Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 23
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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 196,000
At least 196,501 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 3,316 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported 952 new COVID-19 cases, down from 1,168 reported the day before.
Thirty coronavirus-related deaths were reported Wednesday.
About 5.1% of tests were reported positive as of Monday, the latest day 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 912 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, an increase from 888 the day before. Tuesday’s preliminary hospitalization total was listed as 905.
In Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris is “cautiously optimistic” that metrics related to COVID-19 will improve. She had previously expected the area to see a rise in cases due to Labor Day.
NC State plans for in-person classes in spring
North Carolina State University students can plan to take classes in-person and live in dorms during the spring semester, the school says.
The university, in Raleigh, announced Wednesday that it plans to offer at least some in-person classes and reopen residence halls with limited capacities.
NC State was forced to switch to remote learning and close its dorms after reporting hundreds of cases during the first few weeks of classes, The News & Observer reports. Students contracted the virus in residence halls, fraternity and sorority houses and off-campus housing.
Other universities in the state, UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina University, also moved their classes online after reporting cases.
But N.C. State says it’s learned from the fall semester and that it has a plan to keep students safe when they come back this spring. The semester will start Jan. 11 and end April 29. Classes will be a mix of in-person, online and hybrid. Students will have the option for on-campus living and all rooms will be single occupancy.
The school has also “enhanced” its quarantine and isolation plan.
Wake elementary schools could be in-person in November
Wake County elementary school students could start daily in-person classes in November.
School administrators on Wednesday outlined a plan that would have PreK-5 students and K-12 special-education students in regional programs rotate between in-person and online instruction starting Oct. 26 — then start daily in-person classes Nov. 16.
Under the plan, middle and high school students would rotate between face-to-face and remote instruction starting Nov. 9. Officials say they could stay fully remote longer, though.
School board chairman Keith Sutton told The News & Observer no decisions would be made Wednesday but that a vote would be held Tuesday.
This comes as the school system has faced pressure from some parents to restart in-person learning while teachers and other staff say it’s not safe yet.
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 will allow districts to reopen their elementary schools for full-time in-person instruction starting Oct. 5.
Orange County is also considering bringing students back on rotation. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are expected to bring students back for in-person learning in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, a Durham Public Schools survey that found most families prefer continuing virtual learning didn’t reach all district parents.
“Responses from white families far outnumbered those from families of color, despite the district having mostly Black and Latino students,” The News & Observer reported. “The discrepancy shows how DPS struggles to reach some of its most underprivileged students’ families, school officials and faculty said.”
Biden talks about pandemic’s impact on African-Americans in NC
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden visited North Carolina on Wednesday and brought up the coronavirus pandemic’s disproportionate impact on Black Americans.
While in Charlotte, he told a dozen African-American business owners and educators that the “tough times” Americans are facing during the pandemic are even worse for Black communities.
“It’s sort of emblematic of the inequality that exists,” he said at a Black Economic Summit at at Camp North End. “We have a gigantic opportunity to change the systemic racism.”
It was the former vice president’s first visit to the state since February. Audience member were socially distanced and Biden wore a mask before taking it off to speak, The Charlotte Observer reports. His campaign has relied mostly on virtual events in North Carolina.
Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has held multiple in-person events during which many attendees didn’t wear face coverings or practice social distancing. He plans to hold an airport rally in Charlotte on Thursday — his fifth trip to the state in a month.
During his visit Wednesday, Biden told a restaurant owner he favors spending money for businesses to routinely test for the coronavirus. He also criticized the president for having “no national standards” on reopening schools.
Firefighter dies after outbreak in NC department
A firefighter died one month after a coronavirus outbreak was reported in his North Carolina department.
Jason Dean died after contracting COVID-19, the town of Clayton announced Wednesday.
At least 17 firefighters within the Clayton Fire Department tested positive for the virus, including three who were hospitalized, The News & Observer reported. Fire Chief Lee Barbee said there were sanitization efforts in place, but it was difficult for firefighters to practice social distancing during calls.
Clayton is in Johnston County and southeast of Raleigh.
Cunningham says he would get COVID-19 vaccine
After U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham first described being “hesitant” to take a vaccine to protect against the coronavirus, he said Tuesday that he would get one.
“I trust the science, I trust doctors and I trust public health professionals,” Cunningham said during a debate. “And when they sign off on the efficacy, the strength and the effectiveness and the safety of a vaccine, you better bet I’m going to take it.”
Cunningham, a Democrat running against Republican incumbent Thom Tillis, said during a debate on Sept. 14 he was “hesitant” about getting a COVID-19 vaccine this year due to “political and financial corruption” in Washington, D.C., and “political influences on our public health professionals.”
Tillis said during the debate that his opponent’s comments were “irresponsible,” and his campaign released advertisements with them.
Also on Tuesday, Cunningham said he supported a face mask mandate nationwide, The News & Observer reported.
Tillis, who didn’t share an answer about the topic, said: “We’ve got to have people understand wearing a mask is critically important. The more people that wear masks, the sooner our schools get to open, the sooner we go back to sporting events, the sooner we get back to life as normal.”
Fixing mail-in ballots will be easier
North Carolina voters who make mistakes on their absentee ballots will now have an easier time fixing them.
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.
Rule change means more fans allowed at sporting events
Gov. Cooper on Tuesday announced North Carolina is easing coronavirus-related restrictions on outdoor venues, including stadiums.
Outdoor venues with more than 10,000 seats can host events at 7% capacity starting Oct. 2. Cooper said more changes to coronavirus-related restrictions could be announced early next week before Phase 2.5 expires Oct. 2.
Under Phase 2.5 of its reopening plan, the state has a 50-person cap on outdoor gatherings. Orange County, home to UNC-Chapel Hill, has a limit of 25.
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 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 was postponed due to several positive COVID-19 tests in the Irish program. The game, which was supposed to be held Saturday, was rescheduled to Dec. 12.
New app helps with 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 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.”
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 6:51 AM.
