Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Nov. 10
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We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Daily hospitalizations near record
At least 297,442 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 4,660 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reported 2,582 new COVID-19 cases, up from 1,521 reported the day before. Monday marked the first time in a week that the daily case count was below 2,000.
Despite the recent dip in new cases, the state’s seven-day average of new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday hit a record high of 2,438. The average gives a wider view of infections over the course of a week.
Forty-five coronavirus-related deaths were reported in the state on Tuesday.
About 7.5% of tests were reported positive on Sunday, the latest day for which data are available. That’s the highest total since Oct. 25 and above the 5% target set by health officials.
At least 1,230 people in North Carolina were reportedly hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, the second-highest single-day total since the start of the pandemic. The number of patients is close to the record 1,236 reported on July 29.
The U.S. also passed 10 million coronavirus cases on Monday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Cooper extends Phase 3, limits indoor gatherings
Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday that North Carolina will stay in Phase 3 as coronavirus case numbers continue to climb. He also reduced the number of people allowed to gather indoors from 25 to 10.
“The science shows that the transmission of this virus is much greater indoors,” Cooper said. “And the more people who are gathered, the easier this virus can spread. We saw increasing spread from social gatherings in October.”
No more than 50 people are still allowed at outdoor gatherings under the extension.
This is the second time Cooper has opted to extend Phase 3, which was set to expire Friday, The News & Observer reported. Phase 3 first started Oct. 2 and allowed bars, entertainment venues, movie theaters and large outdoor arenas to open with some restrictions. Cooper extended the order on Oct. 21.
The new order will expire at 5 p.m. on Dec. 4.
Case counts have continued to climb as North Carolina families prepare for the holiday season, but Cooper has said he doesn’t want to go backward by reinstating earlier restrictions, according to The N&O.
In the interim, Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, has encouraged people to wear face masks when around people outside their household and to limit family gatherings around the holidays.
“Bottom line, we are on shaky ground as we head into Thanksgiving,” she said.
Atrium aims to be early distributor of COVID-19 vaccine
Atrium Health CEO Gene Woods said Tuesday the Charlotte hospital system will be ready as an “early site” to help with distribution of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine candidate.
Pfizer and partner company BioNTech announced Monday they had a vaccine that was more than 90% effective in preventing COVID-19. The vaccine has to be stored between minus 70 and minus 80 degrees Celsius, and Atrium has already purchased refrigeration units that could hold up to 300,000 doses of the vaccine, Woods said.
“We anticipate Atrium being one of the early sites chosen to work directly with the Department of Health and Human Services to help with the distribution,” he said at a meeting of Atrium’s Board of Commissioners Tuesday.
Pfizer plans to manufacture up to 50 million doses of the vaccine this year, the Charlotte Observer reported.
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RTI studies disease spread in sailors using Garmin
The Research Triangle Park-based nonprofit RTI International and Garmin are partnering for a new Defense Department study that will monitor the spread of disease among sailors living in close quarters on a ship, The News & Observer reported.
The study comes after 1,200 sailors aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt aircraft carrier tested positive for COVID-19 over a short period of time in March.
Sailors in the study will wear a Garmin watch that has an application designed by RTI. The app tracks vitals, respiratory rates and oxygen saturation, and it will allow researchers to more closely monitor a person’s heart rate — which changes when a person is infected with the coronavirus or the flu, according to The N&O.
“We know disease detection is doable using these health metrics,” Robert Furberg, a health data researcher at RTI, said in an interview. “The driving question here is, ‘Does using data that is more granular … does that lead us to a way to optimize these detection solutions?’”
Wake releases plan for spring semester
Wake County administrators have recommended sending high school students back to campus for in-person instruction in January under a proposed plan that would give most students some face-to-face instruction for the spring semester.
The plan excludes students enrolled in the Virtual Academy and provides a mix of in-person and online learning for middle and high school students in Wake County Schools, The News & Observer reported.
School board officials could approve it next week, but the plan could change according to what state restrictions are put in place.
PreK-3rd grade students and K-12 special-education students already returned to school on a rotational basis Oct. 26, and middle school students cycled into a similar same rotation on Monday.
Charlotte 49ers furlough athletic staff
UNC Charlotte has ordered some athletic department employees to take 10 days of unpaid leave between now and June.
The move affects any employees making more than $50,000 a year — including football coach Will Healy and men’s basketball coach Ron Sanchez — as the university weighs the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Without changes, our mission to administer successful, rewarding programs for our student-athletes will be affected, as will our department’s overall viability,” Athletic director Mike Hill wrote in a letter announcing the furloughs.
Veterans volunteer for COVID-19 study
More than 300 people in the Durham VA Health Care System — many of them veterans — have volunteered to participate in a coronavirus vaccine study.
The study, called the ENSEMBLE study, will test a vaccine developed by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, a division of Johnson & Johnson, for COVID-19. The VA, which started enrolling volunteers Monday, and has attracted interest from 220 U.S. military veterans and about 90 employees — many of whom are also veterans.
“I felt it was a perfect opportunity to basically continue to serve my country,” said Frank Bray, assistant chief of the Durham VA’s respiratory department and an Army veteran who served from 1984 to 1993. “This was a golden opportunity to not only serve our veterans, but also the population at large.”
The ENSEMBLE study will be the fourth large-scale vaccine study in the U.S. and is projected to last for up to two years, The News & Observer reported.
Its participants will receive an injection of either the test vaccine or a placebo saline solution. Neither the patients nor their treatment team will know who got which, and they will be monitored for any reactions to the vaccine or possible development of antibodies.
No Cameron Crazies when Duke basketball starts
Duke University is continuing to prohibit fans from sporting events due to the coronavirus.
That means basketball fans called Cameron Crazies won’t be cheering to help contribute to the home game experience, The News & Observer reported Tuesday.
“As Duke University continues to be an industry leader per providing a safe environment for intercollegiate athletic competition, the decision to maintain our non-spectator protocol is imperative for the overall health and safety of the Blue Devil fan base, student-athletes, coaches and support staff, notwithstanding the immediate campus population comprised of students, faculty and staff,” Kevin White, vice president and athletics director, said in a statement.
This season’s competitions are scheduled to start Nov. 25 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, where Duke has sold out more than 400 games straight.
“Not having fans is huge, especially for a program like us with the Cameron Crazies so historically involved in our program,” said Wendell Moore Jr., a forward for the Blue Devils. “It gives us the ultimate home court advantage.”
NC State study finds more families relying on charities for food
More families in North Carolina are worried about not having enough to eat compared to before the pandemic, a new study finds.
Greater percentages of people in the survey also said they didn’t have enough money for balanced meals and that groceries were running out faster as the coronavirus spreads, results show.
To come up with the results, N.C. State University researchers conducted a survey of 383 people from health departments and cooperative extensions across the state, The News & Observer reported Monday. Data was published in the Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems and Community Development in October.
The results come as charities are seeing increased demand for food.
“This thing hit everybody,” said Sylvia Wiggins, director of the Helping Hand Mission. “We see them across the aisles: working people, different populations.
When will $335 COVID-19 checks for parents arrive?
Checks for $335 are being sent to parents in North Carolina to help offset financial burdens caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
The checks, known as Extra Credit Grants, are being sent by the N.C. Department of Revenue. They are valid for 90 days, meaning parents must cash the checks within that time frame or they will expire.
Roughly 1.05 million checks have been sent or are being sent this week to parents who automatically qualified because they claimed a dependent child on their 2019 state income tax forms, The News & Observer reported. Checks started being mailed the week of Oct. 19 and will continue for four weeks.
“That means the last batch of automatic checks are being mailed right now,” according to The N&O. “The checks are mailed to the address listed on your 2019 tax return, or to a new one if you updated your address by Oct. 14.”
Parents who didn’t claim a child tax exemption can apply for the grant until Dec. 15. The original deadline was Oct. 15 but it has since been extended.
Checks for people who had to apply will start being mailed out in November and will continue through Dec. 15.
CMS monitors coronavirus case load
Officials at Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools said they’re closely watching the number of local COVID-19 cases in preparation for middle school students returning to classrooms just before Thanksgiving.
The number of new cases was 136.2 per 100,000 people over the last week, meaning the county is in the “red” zone for the third week in a row, the Charlotte Observer reported.
That’s up from late October, when CMS reported 120 cases per 100,000 people.
Mecklenburg County has also recorded a coronavirus test positivity rate of 7.2%, which puts it in the “yellow” zone of moderate community spread as defined by the district. District officials have said a switch from the yellow to red zone “does not necessarily mean there will be a change in reopening plans,” according to the Observer.
This story was originally published November 10, 2020 at 6:55 AM.
