Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Sept. 24
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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 198,000
At least 198,189 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 3,356 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported 1,688 new COVID-19 cases, up from 952 reported the day before.
Forty coronavirus-related deaths were reported Thursday.
About 4.8% of tests were reported positive as of Tuesday, the latest day for which data is available. That’s just below health officials’ goal of 5% or lower, which the state has been hovering around for about a week.
At least 902 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Thursday, a drop from 912 the day before.
Phase 2.5 of reopening is set to expire Oct. 2 and Gov. Roy Cooper has said he’ll announce early next week about the status of the state’s coronavirus-related restrictions
Trump visits NC day after Biden event
President Donald Trump visited North Carolina on Thursday — his fifth trip to the state in a month — and talked about health care. He also touted his handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the country is on the cusp of having a vaccine.
The virus has claimed 200,000 American lives, and most voters think the president has mishandled the crisis, according to polls. But on Thursday, the president told a different story.
“We have reduced the fatality rate by 85% since April,” he said. “Incredible.”
His visit came the day after Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden visited North Carolina 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 Camp North End. “We have a gigantic opportunity to change the systemic racism.”
Biden also told a restaurant owner he favors funding for businesses to routinely test for the coronavirus. He also criticized Trump for having “no national standards” on reopening schools.
It was the former vice president’s first visit to the state since February. Audience members were socially distanced and Biden wore a mask before taking it off to speak, The Charlotte Observer reported. His campaign has relied mostly on virtual events in North Carolina. Trump has held multiple in-person events during which many attendees didn’t wear face coverings or practice social distancing.
Hundreds attend outdoor concert
The owner of an outdoor arena in Wake County has been told by the Sheriff’s Office to cancel all future events after a weekend concert there exceeded the state’s limits on gatherings.
The Sept. 19 event at Gooch Sports Arena in Wendell was investigated by the Sheriff’s Office after neighbors complained. The governor’s executive order limits outdoor gatherings to 50 people, but 200 tickets for the event were sold, The N&O reports.
The venue’s owner defended the enforcement of COVID-19 safety guidelines and said he did what he could.
NC university employees face cuts
North Carolina State University on Thursday announced new employee furloughs and salary cuts as a result of sharp financial losses due to COVID-19.
UNC-Chapel Hill administrators warned of similar personnel actions in response to revenue losses. UNC has already furloughed employees in auxiliary departments and has also limited new hires and restricted non-personnel spending, The News & Observer reports.
“Every university around the country is facing revenue losses, in some cases historic revenue losses and so Carolina is no different,” UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz said at a media briefing Thursday.
The announcement comes the day after N.C. State said students can plan to take classes in person and live in dorms during the spring semester.
The university announced Wednesday that it plans to offer at least some in-person classes and reopen residence halls with limited capacities.
N.C. State was forced to switch to remote learning and close its dorms after reporting hundreds of COVID-19 cases during the first few weeks of the fall semester. Students contracted the virus in residence halls, fraternity and sorority houses and off-campus housing.
UNC-Chapel Hill and East Carolina University also moved classes online after reporting cases at the beginning of the semester.
But N.C. State says it’s learned from the fall semester and that it has a plan to safely bring students 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 said it has also “enhanced” its quarantine and isolation plan.
NC ranks last for some unemployment metrics
After Democratic and Republican leaders said North Carolina ranked low for unemployment benefits, a fact-check has found truth in those claims.
Gov. Roy Cooper has said the state was “’dead last’ for maximum weekly benefits available for those claiming unemployment,” The News & Observer reported Wednesday. The claim is true, though North Carolina is tied with Florida in that metric.
The state also has among the lowest average weekly jobless benefits, ranking 49th in the country in August. The fact-check also found North Carolina is behind other states for distributing unemployment benefits.
The information comes after more than 1 million people in North Carolina filed for unemployment benefits starting in mid-March, when the state implemented restrictions to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
2 NC Board of Elections members resign
Both Republican members of the N.C. State Board of Elections stepped down Wednesday, “citing their concerns over a legal settlement that addresses several voting issues,” The News & Observer reported.
David Black and Ken Raymond resigned 41 days before the November election. The members stepped down the day after the elections board announced it tentatively reached a settlement with an advocacy group that filed a lawsuit about the state’s mail-in voting rules.
“The settlement, if approved by a judge, would create new rules to make it easier for people to fix mistakes on their mail-in ballots,” the N&O reported. “It also would extend the amount of time after the election that absentee ballots could come in and still be counted.”
All five election board members, including Black and Raymond, “agreed to the proposed settlement,” according to the newspaper. The Republicans’ absence leaves three Democrats on the board.
The resignations come as more people than usual are expected to vote by mail this year due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Wake elementary school students could return in November
Wake County elementary school students could start daily in-person classes in November.
School administrators on Wednesday outlined a plan in which pre-K through fifth-grade students and K-12 special-education students would be in regional programs that 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 until the end of the semester, though.
School board chairman Keith Sutton told The News & Observer a vote would be held Tuesday.
The recommended plan comes as the school system has faced pressure from some parents to restart in-person learning while teachers and other staff members say it’s not safe yet.
More districts in North Carolina are starting to bring students back for face-to-face learning using a hybrid model to account for capacity limits. Gov. Cooper last week announced he will allow districts to reopen their elementary schools for full-time, in-person instruction starting Oct. 5.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools are expected to bring students back for in-person learning in the coming weeks.
Orange County is also considering bringing students back in a rotation.
Meanwhile, a Durham Public Schools survey that found most families prefer continuing virtual learning didn’t reach all district parents. The district serves mostly Black and Latino students, but responses from white families significantly outnumbered responses from Black and Latino families.
Firefighter dies after outbreak
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.
This story was originally published September 24, 2020 at 7:07 AM.
