Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Oct. 16
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 241,000
At least 241,623 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 3,910 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported 2,684 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,532 the day before. Friday was the second consecutive day in which daily cases reached a record.
Thirty-six coronavirus-related deaths were reported Friday.
About 6.3% of tests were reported positive on Wednesday, the most recent day for which data are available. That’s higher than the 5% target set by health officials.
At least 1,148 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Friday, an increase from 1,131 the day before. Thursday’s preliminary hospitalization total was reported as 1,140.
Recent daily hospitalization counts are the highest they have been since August.
New coronavirus cases have landed North Carolina in the “red zone” in a report from the White House Coronavirus Task Force, according to The News & Observer.
Metrics are stabilizing in Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte and once hard hit from the pandemic. But officials say hospitalizations have soared in neighboring Gaston County, and case counts are up in Lincoln and Cleveland counties.
UNC Charlotte testing students in dorms
All students in three dorms at UNC Charlotte with confirmed COVID-19 cases are now being tested, university officials said Friday.
Officials would not name the dorms but said it was a “proactive” measure to prevent the spread of the virus. There are currently no coronavirus clusters in any of UNC Charlotte’s residence halls, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The students have been told not to leave their buildings until they’ve been tested and meals will be delivered.
Duke reports first COVID-19 cluster
Nine undergraduate students living at an apartment complex off campus at Duke University have tested positive for the coronavirus, officials announced Friday.
The students live at the Solis Apartments on Main Street and tested positive Oct. 7.
Mike Schoenfeld, Duke’s chief communications officer and vice president for public affairs and government relations, said they are “doing well.”
“All of our systems worked the way they were supposed to — the initial case was identified through surveillance testing, contact tracing was activated, students in the friend group were placed in quarantine,” Schoenfeld said.
Duke has reported a total of 107 COVID-19 cases since August, including three employees. Ninety-two of those cases were cleared to return to campus, The News & Observer reported.
Residents urged to respond to contact tracers
Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said North Carolinians aren’t responding to calls from the health department’s contact tracers tasked with finding people who have potentially been exposed to the coronavirus.
“We are hearing numerous reports from our health departments of people refusing to share information and contacts of people they may have exposed to this virus,” Cohen said during a news briefing Thursday.
About half of the people called don’t answer, she said.
Contact tracers communicate with residents by phone, text or email, The News & Observer reported. Phone calls show up as the phone number for the local health department, or the words NC OUTREACH. Text messages will come from the number 45394, and emails will be sent by he email address NC-ARIAS-NoReply@dhhs.nc.gov.
Contact tracers will leave a voicemail if you don’t answer with a number to call back.
HBCU president dies after COVID-19 infection
The president of St. Augustine’s University in Raleigh died after contracting the coronavirus.
About 100 people on Friday morning gathered at the campus to mourn Irving McPhail. He died of COVID-19 complications months after joining the historically Black school in July.
“It is important to note that he did not contract the virus in the SAU community,” the school said in a letter on Oct. 12. “We continue to take all precautions to ensure that our SAU community remains safe.”
Judge denies NC donor’s request to delay prison after COVID-19 vaccine
A businessman at the center of a North Carolina corruption scandal was ordered to go to prison after his lawyers unsuccessfully tried to delay his time behind bars.
Greg Lindberg, 50, was convicted in March of promising millions of dollars in campaign donations in a bribe of state Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey.
“Citing their client’s age and a pre-existing medical condition — sleep apnea — the defense team argued that Lindberg was a greater risk to contract a severe case of COVID-19 while in prison and should not have to report until a coronavirus vaccine is found,” The Charlotte Observer reported Friday.
A judge denied the request, and Lindberg on Tuesday is expected to report for his more than at seven-year sentence FPC-Montgomery, a prison camp in Alabama.
In addition, Lindberg appealed his conviction and asked a judge to delay jail time so he could help out with the appeal. His lawyers have also “argued that he should remain free on safety grounds,” the Observer reported.
UNC study finds coronavirus strain in swine could move to humans
A coronavirus strain that has made pigs sick has the potential to infect humans and devastate the pork industry, North Carolina researchers found.
The UNC study examined swine acute diarrhea syndrome, a virus that started impacting Chinese pigs in 2016 and is also known as SADS-CoV, according to findings published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The strain caused the swine to develop gastrointestinal symptoms and 90% of infected piglets to die.
“The virus, which has not been detected in the United States, is in the same family as SARS-CoV-2, which causes COVID-19,” The News & Observer reported Friday.
Though the findings were presented before COVID-19 hit the United States, they underscore the need for addressing coronaviruses.
“The most likely way for the virus to move to humans would be through contact such as between workers and animals at hog farms,” which are prevalent in North Carolina, according to the N&O.
Cooper urges vigilance as cases rise
Gov. Roy Cooper is urging North Carolinians to wear a face mask and avoid large gatherings after the state saw its highest single-day increase of coronavirus cases since March on Thursday.
“Recently, like much of the country and other parts of the world, we’ve seen higher numbers,” Cooper said at a news conference Thursday. “It will be important to continue watching these numbers over a 14-day period. But one thing is clear. We must be even more vigilant in our effort to prevent the spread of this virus.”
North Carolina’s Phase 3 is set to expire Oct. 23, but the governor hasn’t said whether he will extend the order.
The state’s current seven-day average for new cases is 1,935 and daily coronavirus hospitalizations pushed past 1,000 earlier this month.
Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, are set to unveil a plan for vaccine distribution priorities on Friday.
Fire department reports COVID-19 outbreak
At least six firefighters with the Sanford Fire Department have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Thursday, city officials said in a news release.
It’s at least the third outbreak at a fire department in North Carolina since August.
“The Sanford Fire Department follows and exceeds, where possible, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines while providing emergency services to our community,” Sanford Fire Chief Wayne Barber said in the release.
The infected firefighters are in isolation at home, but city officials wouldn’t comment on their condition. All other firefighters in Sanford are being tested for the virus and the facilities have been sanitized.
The outbreak comes just two weeks after five firefighters in Wake Forest tested positive for COVID-19 and almost a month after a firefighter in Clayton died from COVID-19 complications.
NC restaurants serving fair food after canceled event
Restaurants in the Triangle are serving deep-fried dishes and other goodies to help customers fill their cravings for fair food.
While the pandemic canceled this year’s North Carolina State Fair, vendors will offer to-go dishes at the Raleigh fairgrounds through Oct. 25. The service runs daily from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.
Fair food lovers can also get their fix at several Raleigh-area restaurants that have corn dogs, turkey legs or other items on their menus, The News & Observer reported Thursday.
Wells Fargo fires workers over pandemic loan allegations
Wells Fargo, which has a major presence in Charlotte, fired workers accused of “defrauding the Small Business Administration in applications to a pandemic relief loan program,” The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
As many as 125 workers were fired after the company says it discovered some employees made false claims on applications for the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. The funds were requested for personal use, not for bank duties, according to Wells Fargo.
“If we identify additional wrongdoing by employees, we will take appropriate action,” David Galloreese, a human resources leader, said in a memo, according to the Observer. “While these instances of wrongdoing are extremely unfortunate and disappointing, they are not representative of the high integrity of the vast majority of Wells Fargo employees.”
Most in NC poll don’t want rushed reopening
The majority of North Carolinians favor slowly reopening the state during the pandemic, a new poll finds.
In the Elon University poll, 77% of residents say they support that most North Carolina public schools were open for online-only instruction when the school year started.
The poll found only 28% of people think the state has been too slow to reopen businesses.
“Also, 28% said the state’s coronavirus rules and regulations have been too restrictive,” The News & Observer reported Thursday. “The majority of respondents felt the state’s response was just right or wasn’t restrictive enough.”
The online poll was conducted in partnership with McClatchy’s North Carolina newsrooms. It surveyed 1,382 adult residents from Oct. 9 to 11 and “has a credibility interval of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points,” The N&O reported.
This story was originally published October 16, 2020 at 7:00 AM.
