Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Dec. 1
Click here for updates for Dec. 2.
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Daily hospitalizations exceed 2,000
At least 367,395 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 5,284 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday reported 2,883 new COVID-19 cases, up from 2,734 reported the day before.
Twenty-three additional deaths were reported Tuesday.
At least 2,033 people in North Carolina were hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Tuesday, the fourth consecutive day of record highs and the first time the state has reported more than 2,000 coronavirus patients during the pandemic.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed the way states count COVID-19 hospitalizations, which contributed to an increase in the state’s numbers by more than 10% on Nov. 13, The News & Observer reported. Daily hospitalizations have continued to rise since then.
About 10.2% of tests were reported positive as of Sunday, the latest day for which data are available. That’s above the 5% target set by health officials.
The news comes as Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday is scheduled to speak about the state’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. A live stream will air 3 p.m. at ncdps.gov/storm-update.
Cooper says Pfizer vaccine headed for North Carolina
The Pfizer brand of the coronavirus vaccine will be distributed in North Carolina and will be free to everyone, Gov. Roy Cooper announced Tuesday.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said vaccine distribution could start in January and would likely go to individuals with at least two chronic conditions after high-risk health care workers and nursing homes, The News & Observer reported.
North Carolina previously submitted a draft vaccine distribution plan in October, which includes at least four phases.
Under Phase 1, health care workers at high risk of exposure, EMTs, firefighters, essential workers and long-term care staff and residents would be first to receive a vaccination.
“When it’s my turn to get this vaccine,” Cooper said, “I’ll be ready to roll up my sleeves.”
Leaders warn of widening education gap in NC
Education leaders in North Carolina expressed concern Tuesday about fewer students graduating and more being held back because of setbacks brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
“There’s going to be a huge gap in our students’ path through education,” Deputy State Superintendent David Stegall told the General Assembly’s Joint Legislative Education Oversight Committee. “There are going to be learning gaps that are going to take years to recover from, without a doubt. As a parent, as an educator, it’s obvious.”
Stegall reported about 82% of school districts have reintroduced some in-person learning since COVID-19 shut schools down in March.
While 18% have stuck to online learning only, he said all districts are planning on bringing some students back for in-person classes in January, The News & Observer reported.
In the meantime, attendance rates are down, schools are reporting higher failing rates and enrollment in the state’s public schools had dropped off.
NC teacher dies after contracting COVID-19
A North Carolina teacher has died from complications of the coronavirus, officials say.
Cumberland County Schools says the employee was working remotely, and no other staffers were exposed.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the employee’s family, loved ones and school community,” Marvin Connelly Jr., superintendent of the Fayetteville-area district, said in a statement.
Across the state, at least three other school employees have died after getting infected with COVID-19, McClatchy News reported.
Sign about COVID-19 vaccines taken down in Durham
An expert says a sign displayed in North Carolina could harm public trust about the coronavirus vaccine.
The sign was seen on a bridge over Interstate 40 in Durham and read “COVID-19 vaccine makers are exempt from liability.”
“It creates this whole concept of vaccine hesitancy and ‘Don’t trust the scientists,” Thomas Denney, chief operating officer of the Human Vaccine Institute at Duke University. “I think it’s horrible.”
Information on the sign is “technically correct,” The News & Observer reported.
“The development and manufacture of vaccines are deemed a public health necessity, and there’s been other mechanisms that would provide some sort of compensation for serious side effects,” Denney said.
The sign was taken down by an unknown person before city employees were set to take it down Monday morning.
Jury trial to end after possible COVID-19 exposure
A mistrial was expected to be declared in Mecklenburg County after concerns about potential juror exposure to the coronavirus.
Superior Court Judge Lisa Bell said she would make the announcement about the drug-trafficking case on Tuesday morning, The Charlotte Observer reported. It was the county’s first case brought before a jury since COVID-19 stopped many court activities in March.
The trial was suspended in late November due to one juror’s coronavirus-like symptoms. Now, another person on the jury may have been exposed to sick relatives. State law says jurors can’t be replaced during deliberations.
“The delays have reached the point where I find myself not only attempting to protect the health and safety of the jurors but also the rights of the state and defendants to a fair trial,” Bell said.
The news comes as a number of staff members in the Durham County District Attorney’s Office have been exposed to the coronavirus, forcing most court hearings this week to be postponed.
A spokesperson wouldn’t say how many people are in quarantine or tested positive for COVID-19, The News & Observer reported. According to county courthouse notices, at least eight people who were at the courthouse have tested positive since Oct. 30.
The advisory on the North Carolina Judicial Branch website says “court sessions canceled due to DA staff quarantined due to COVID.”
Officers had no masks during traffic stop
Two North Carolina police officers weren’t wearing masks during a traffic stop, photos show.
The Raleigh officers were seen Sunday after stopping a vehicle, prompting replies from the city’s mayor and police chief.
“All city employees should wear masks as outlined in the governor’s order,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin wrote in a text message to The News & Observer.
Sue Sturgis, a former News & Observer reporter who took Sunday’s photos, said the car’s driver was wearing a mask.
“You are being asked to choose between two equally dangerous things,” she said. “Am I going to not respect the officers and not listen to what they are saying to me, or am I going to roll my window down and potentially be exposed to a deadly virus.”
The incident came after Raleigh officers were seen without masks during protests over the summer. The police department in June said face coverings weren’t required when officers could maintain social distancing or couldn’t wear them due to their health or religious beliefs.
UNC Charlotte football game canceled
UNC Charlotte canceled its football game Tuesday against Western Kentucky, which was postponed Saturday in the hopes that enough 49ers would be eligible to compete.
This is the fourth straight week the team hasn’t played because of the coronavirus, the Charlotte Observer reported.
“We had high hopes that we would be able to play,” 49ers athletics director Mike Hill said.
The 49ers haven’t played since Halloween at Duke University. Their next scheduled game is Saturday against Florida International, but officials have said it will depend on both programs’ testing results later in the week.
Local officials test positive for COVID-19
The Pitt County public health director and the Rockingham County sheriff have tested positive for the coronavirus.
Dr. John Silvernail, public health director for Pitt County in Eastern North Carolina, got tested Saturday after he started to feel sick, McClatchy News reported. Health officials said he might have gotten the virus from a family member.
Silvernail is at home with “mild symptoms” and might participate in a virtual news conference Wednesday.
In Rockingham County north of Greensboro, Sheriff Sam Page tested positive for COVID-19 the week of Nov. 16. A department spokesperson said the sheriff has been working from home and is due to return to the office Tuesday.
“He is doing very well,” the spokesperson said.
Page showed some symptoms for a few days, BJ Barnes, the mayor of Summerfield and former sheriff of Guilford County, said in a Facebook post after reportedly speaking with him on Saturday.
The sheriff previously called Gov. Roy Cooper’s mask mandate “unenforceable” but said “I wear one myself, that’s my choice.”
Hornets to start home games without fans
The Charlotte Hornets have no initial plans to welcome spectators to their home court when the team’s season tips off Dec. 22.
The NBA team on Monday said it hopes the situation surrounding the coronavirus will improve and allow for some fans to attend future home games.
“We will continue to work with state and local health officials, as well as the NBA, to develop a plan that will allow fans to return to Spectrum Center in both a safe and timely manner,” the team said in a statement.
Though the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and college football teams have been allowed to have a limited number of fans at outdoor stadiums, North Carolina has stricter guidelines for indoor venues.
Wake to open Virtual Academy registration
Families of elementary school students in the Wake County district can begin enrolling this week for online learning.
From Dec. 2-9, families can sign up for next semester’s Virtual Academy program. It was designed for parents who prefer not to send their children to school campuses for face-to-face classes as the coronavirus spreads.
More than half of the 69,000 elementary students in the school system are in this semester’s Virtual Academy.
Registration for middle and high school students was earlier this year.
Bar cited for violating coronavirus restrictions
A North Carolina bar where three people were shot was cited for violating COVID-19 restrictions, officials say.
The victims were hit with gunfire early Monday at The Rose Bar in Raleigh, police say. Their injuries weren’t life-threatening.
The bar’s “owner was cited for exceeding COVID-19 limits on crowds,” The News & Observer reported.
The state is under Phase 3 of Gov. Roy Cooper’s reopening plan, which has restrictions for restaurants and allows for limited outdoor capacity at bars.
“According to its Facebook page, The Rose Bar has a full kitchen and was advertising live dancing Sunday with booth seating nearly sold out,” the N&O reported.
This story was originally published December 1, 2020 at 7:09 AM.
