Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Oct. 10
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 229,000
At least 229,752 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 3,765 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Saturday reported 2,321 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,034 the day before.
Eighteen deaths were added to the total on Saturday.
About 5.2% of tests were reported positive on Saturday. That’s lower than the 8% of positive test results reported last weekend but higher than the 5% target set by health officials.
At least 1,034 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Saturday, down from 1,065 the day before.
Restaurants find sweet spot for outdoor dining as weather cools
Restaurants that were forced to shut down during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic — many of which didn’t reopen when the state eased restrictions — are now “finding themselves with a seasonal sweet spot,” The News & Observer reported.
With the weather cooler, some are opting to finally reopen with outdoor-only dining after months of exclusively serving takeout.
“It definitely feels like this is our shot,” Cheetie Kumar, who owns Garland restaurant in downtown Raleigh, told The N&O. “This is a big bridge for us. We don’t know what’s going to happen. There’s tension mounting with the election, the weather’s changing.”
Lee-Ann Jaykus, a William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor at N.C. State who’s been working with the food industry on COVID-19 transmission, said eating outside is the less risky option “because the air flow disperses the virus and the UV light makes it less infectious,” The N&O reported.
But the impending winter brings a new set of challenges. Some restaurants say they’ll keep investing in outdoor seating and bring in heaters to make it more comfortable.
Health director says early voting safe in Charlotte
Mecklenburg County Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said early voting in the Charlotte area is safe during the coronavirus pandemic, The Charlotte Observer reported.
All early voting sites are designed for social distancing and a “significant amount” of personal protective equipment will be distributed to poll workers and voters without face coverings, Harris said during a news conference Friday.
“Everyone is being encouraged to wear a mask and to socially distance,” she said. “At this point in time, we’re comfortable with the work that the (Mecklenburg County) Board of Elections is doing around these sites.”
There will be 33 sites in Charlotte for early voting from Oct. 15 to Oct. 31, The Observer reported. (Wake County will have 20 early voting sites and Durham County, 14. To find early voting sites, visit the State Board of Elections website, www.ncsbe.gov, and click on “Vote Early in Person.”)
While Mecklenburg County’s COVID-19 ambassadors are currently scheduled to inspect the early voting sites, hand sanitizer and Q-tips will be on hand, surfaces will be regularly cleaned and barriers will stand between poll workers and voters at check-in tables.
The county’s COVID-19 metrics have remained stable in recent days, with an average of 86 individuals hospitalized over the last week and an average positive test rate of 4.9%.
Forest tries to push for school reopening
Lt. Gov. Dan Forest tried to convince the N.C. State Board of Education to allow every public school in the state to have the option of fully moving to in-person classes.
Forest, a member of the state board and the Republican candidate for governor, argued Thursday that the decision shouldn’t have been left to his opponent, Gov. Roy Cooper.
“But Forest’s motion to allow all K-12 public schools to fully reopen was determined to be out of order,” The News & Observer reported Friday. “The state board and the state Department of Public Instruction have worked with the governor’s office on school reopening issues.”
Cooper, a Democrat, let the state’s elementary schools start having daily face-to-face classes but kept restrictions for middle schoolers and high schoolers.
More than 100 Amazon workers test positive in NC
About 133 Amazon employees in North Carolina have had coronavirus infections, data show.
The Charlotte Observer analyzed information from the online retailer, which revealed almost 20,000 confirmed or suspected cases among its U.S. workers since March.
Amazon has more than 1 million employees nationwide, including about 12,500 in North Carolina.
While the company says it shared infection rates to help worker safety and reopening plans, “a positive test does not mean someone became infected at work,” the Observer reported Friday.
Thousands in NC file for bankruptcy during coronavirus
Thousands of people in North Carolina went bankrupt as COVID-19 spread through the state.
More than 3,000 submitted bankruptcy filings from April to September, a time when governments postponed evictions, kept utilities running and took other measures to help keep the economy afloat.
While there are fewer filings than before the pandemic, experts say there could be a surge when some federal relief measures go away, The North Carolina Watchdog Reporting Network reported Friday.
“It doesn’t matter what the relief packages are now,” said Sara Greene, a Duke University law professor. “It could be for some people that they really were on the edge of filing. Then COVID-19 comes along and it makes things worse.”
This story was originally published October 10, 2020 at 8:19 AM.
