Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Nov. 24
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Hospitalizations set new record
At least 342,294 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 5,074 have died, according to health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reported 3,100 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,419 the day before. The daily case count on Sunday reached an all-time high of 4,514.
Thirty-five deaths were reported Tuesday.
At least 1,724 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday — setting a new record for the state.
About 6.5% of tests were reported positive on Sunday, the latest day for which data are available. That’s above the 5% target set by health officials.
The latest case counts come as drug makers say they’ve developed vaccines that have proven to be effective against COVID-19. But a UNC expert says vaccines by themselves aren’t enough to overcome the virus.
“I think without treatments, vaccines will not get us there all the way,” said Dr. David Wohl, an infectious disease specialist. “And same thing for treatments without vaccines. We need both ends of the spectrum.”
Private schools report more COVID-19 clusters
A report released by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday showed private schools have reported 175 confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and staff.
They also account for 14 of North Carolina’s 26 active K-12 clusters, The News & Observer reported.
The data comes as Gov. Roy Cooper opted to make wearing a face covering mandatory in private schools and other establishments on Monday. Previously, private schools were exempt from the face mask rule.
North Carolina releases a COVID-19 cluster report for schools twice a week. The state defines a cluster as five or more confirmed cases within a 14-day period that can be plausibly linked.
Stay-at-home order unlikely in Charlotte
Mecklenburg County commissioners’ Chairman George Dunlap has said he doesn’t anticipate another stay-at-home order despite rising case numbers in the region.
“Knowing what I know right now, I would not” sign a new order, Dunlap told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.
His statements come just two days after Mecklenburg County reported its highest number of cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The county reported 534 cases on Sunday — higher than the counts seen when cases climbed in July, the Observer reported.
Also this week, Mecklenburg County has neared all-time daily hospitalization records set in the summer. About 200 patients needed “acute-level care” at the time, with levels now standing at 180.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is preparing to bring more students back to school for in-person instruction.
At least 30 students and at least 60 employees in the district have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past week, chief school performance officer Kathy Elling told the Observer.
“We are monitoring our statistics closely in conversation with the health department,” Elling said. “We would strongly urge everyone in the community to follow the protocols in place, which are wear a face covering, wash your hands and stay social distanced.”
Vaccines not enough to stop coronavirus, UNC expert says
The three new COVID-19 vaccine candidates showing promise in clinical trials won’t be enough to end the pandemic, an infectious disease specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said Tuesday.
“A vaccine will not completely get us out of it. It really won’t,” Dr. David Wohl told the News & Observer. “There’ll still be people getting sick. There’ll still be people dying. We still need good treatments, and that’s why I think the treatment work has to continue as well.”
Wohl said the results of vaccine trials by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca are hopeful. But there are still questions surrounding their safety and long-term effectiveness.
Even after they are approved for widespread distribution, he said people who get the virus will still need treatments.
“A vaccine may not work in everyone, he says, and many people simply won’t get it,” The N&O reported.
NC worker in lawsuit says he lost job after entering quarantine
A man in North Carolina says he was fired after telling his boss hospital staff recommended he go into quarantine for COVID-19.
Now the former worker, Larry Bishop, has filed a lawsuit that accuses TRP Construction of violating federal laws meant to offer protection during the coronavirus.
Lew Glenn, an attorney for the Huntersville company, said in a court filing that the former construction worker’s claims “are barred by reason of his own fraudulent acts and misrepresentations.”
“The company is also challenging Bishop’s contention that during his time at TRP, he “met or exceeded” the company’s expectations,” The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.
During the pandemic, pandemic-related cases have made their way into the courts. Some employees have argued they were afraid of going to their jobs due to possible exposure to the virus, while others say they were out of work after reporting unsafe conditions.
No coronavirus spread tied to NC voting
No coronavirus infections were tied to voting in North Carolina, officials say.
Election season geared up with a primary on March 3, the same day the state reported its first case of COVID-19. Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the N.C. Board of Elections, said no coronavirus spread was linked to North Carolina voting, The News & Observer reported.
The state saw “75.4% voter turnout in a pandemic, which is remarkable,” Bell said. Also, a record 3.6 million people cast their ballots during the early voting period, data show.
Redlined NC areas at higher risk for COVID-19, data show
Residents in North Carolina neighborhoods that experienced redlining in the 20th century have higher coronavirus risks when compared with people living in areas that didn’t have that type of racial discrimination, data show.
People in those parts of Durham that are now predominantly Black are more likely to have medical conditions that can make them seriously sick if they contract COVID-19, The News & Observer reported. While Black people make up 37% of Durham County residents, they constitute almost half of coronavirus-related deaths.
“Even though the practice of redlining ended 40, 50 years ago formally, over time what’s happened is there’s a ripple effect that happens over generations,” said Sterling Fulton, evaluation director for the Durham-based Center for Black Health & Equity. “In the United States, home-ownership is the largest asset that people are able to pull from to benefit from one generation to the next.”
To come up with the new findings, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition says it examined housing maps from the 1930s and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cooper issues ‘dire’ COVID-19 warning, tightens mask rules
Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday called the spread of the coronavirus in North Carolina “dire,” saying new mask requirements are needed to quell the spread. He also extended the state’s Phase 3 until Dec. 11.
“We are in danger,” Cooper said during a news conference.
Under the new rules, residents will have to wear masks at home when friends visit, when at work, in the gym, at stores and in schools. Those include private and homeschool settings where there are non-household members, The News & Observer reported.
Businesses will also be required to enforce the mask mandate, keep customers 6 feet apart and follow occupancy limits.
Local law enforcement and health departments will be called on to enforce the rules, The News & Observer reported. Despite the new announcement, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police will continue to issue mask citations “as a last resort,” according to The Charlotte Observer.
The order comes as state health officials reported at least 20 counties in the “red” zone on the COVID-19 risk map — double what it was last week. Red indicates “critical community spread.”
Coronavirus interrupts college basketball season
The COVID-19 pandemic has left college basketball programs in North Carolina with last-minute cancellations, limited fans and interrupted practice schedules.
N.C. State University’s women’s and men’s basketball seasons start Wednesday. But only 25 fans will be allowed at Reynolds Coliseum to watch the teams play, Fred Demarest, a spokesman for the university, told The News & Observer.
The fans will be players’ guests, and no tickets will be allotted to the visiting team.
Duke basketball canceled its season-opener against Gardner-Webb on Wednesday after an asymptomatic player at Gardner-Webb tested positive for the coronavirus.
Duke’s next game will be against Coppin State at 2 p.m. Saturday at home, The N&O reported.
N.C. Central left for Iowa Monday to kick off the 2020-2021 season with a pair of games against Iowa and Southern on Wednesday and Thursday. The team was forced to temporarily suspend practice last week after reporting a positive COVID-19 test in the program.
Charlotte airport expecting busiest travel in months
As Thanksgiving approaches, the Charlotte Douglas International Airport is making plans as it anticipates more passengers than the airport has seen since the pandemic began.
About 17,000 people are expected to fly out of Charlotte on Nov. 24, 25 and 28, with “tens of thousands” more catching connecting flights, officials say. Still, the travel volume is down from last year, when the airport averaged 33,000 to 38,000 daily travelers, The Charlotte Observer reported Monday.
The number of people taking flights from the airport has started to rebound after the coronavirus pandemic caused air travel to slow in the spring. As the disease continues its spread, airport officials ask people to wear masks and practice social distancing.
“We want folks to understand that when they come to the airport over those couple of days, it’s going to be busy,” said Jack Christine, the airport’s chief operating officer. “There are folks that may be a little bit surprised with how many people are moving through the facility.”
Colleges plan to test students for spring semester
When North Carolina college students return to campuses from holiday breaks, some institutions will mandate COVID-19 testing.
Peter Hans, president of the UNC System Board of Governors, said the schools will require testing for students who come back for the spring semester or ask them to show proof of a negative test. Colleges within the system hadn’t required testing before fall classes, and much of the testing that semester was voluntary.
Though health officials during the summer didn’t recommend the mass testing of people without symptoms, research showed that strategy worked at Duke University. The school plans to continue the program in the spring, The News & Observer reported Monday.
The plans for next semester come after East Carolina University, N.C. State University and UNC Chapel-Hill all transitioned to online classes and had students move out of dorms after coronavirus cases climbed.
Symptoms reported in NC pets may not be COVID-19
North Carolina veterinarians have received calls from people fearing their dogs or cats were sick with the coronavirus, but none of them had the disease.
Around the world, only a dozen cats and dogs have tested positive for the virus since the start of the pandemic, said Dr. Jennifer Jones Shults, president of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association.
“A loud, honking-type cough in your dog, 99.9 percent of the time it’s not going to be COVID,” she said, according to The Charlotte Observer.
Often times, experts say kennel cough and other health issues can help explain pets’ symptoms. Pet owners concerned about possible coronavirus infections can contact their veterinarians for COVID-19 testing.
Health experts have said there isn’t evidence of transmission of the virus between pets and humans.
This story was originally published November 24, 2020 at 7:01 AM.
