COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in NC on March 6
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Case count tops 872,000
At least 872,176 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 11,502 have died since last March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,027 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, down from 2,093 new cases on Friday and 2,502 reported Thursday.
As of Saturday, at least 1,179 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus, down from 1,226 reported on Friday.
Fifty-six coronavirus-related deaths were reported Saturday. Deaths don’t all occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.
As of Saturday, 4.2% of COVID-19 tests came back positive, down from 4.3% on Wednesday, the latest previous day for which data are available. Health officials have said 5% is the target rate to control the spread of the virus.
More than 1 million people in North Carolina have received both doses of the coronavirus vaccine as of Thursday. A total of 2.7 million doses have been administered statewide.
Parents irate after NC high school cancels prom over COVID concerns
Parents lambasted Mooresville High School on social media after administrators on Friday cited COVID-19 spread concerns for canceling the 2021 prom, while the football team could play.
Nearly 150 weighed in with comments on Facebook by Saturday morning, most all of them criticizing the decision.
“Shameful,” parent Aimee DuBois Downing posted.
“So dumb!” wrote Joel Rose.
Parents vowed to organize an outdoor prom at Carrigan Farms in Mooresville.
“I understand the parents’ frustration, I do,” Mooresville Graded School District spokeswoman Tanae McLean told The Charlotte Observer, especially when state health officials and the state high school athletic association are letting football and other sports play on.
“That’s the frustration we’ve dealt with all year,” McLean said. “We’re all puzzled about it ... .But everybody’s doing their best, from the DHHS down, with what we have.
Economy can recover if COVID is tamed, professor says
UNC Charlotte professor John Connaughton believes the economy will get better in 2021 if the pandemic is under control.
In a quarterly economic forecast Friday, Connaughton said North Carolina could have more jobs at the end of the year than it did in 2019, The Charlotte Observer reported. But it will depend on the coronavirus.
“The coronavirus dominated the economic picture in 2020, and the coronavirus will dominate the economic picture in 2021 as well,“ Connaughton said in a webcast.
Most Charlotte coronavirus deaths are no longer in nursing homes
The latest data in Mecklenburg County show the majority of people dying from COVID-19 are no longer those in nursing homes or long-term care facilities.
Instead, more than half of the deaths are now tied to the broader community, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Dr. David Weber, an epidemiology professor at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and associate chief medical officer at UNC Health, attributes the decline to two things: the most vulnerable in nursing homes have already died, and vaccinations have helped with existing “natural immunity.”
At Clear Creek Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Mint Hill, medical director Dr. William Long told the Observer cases have dropped off dramatically.
“It’s like someone is taking a weight off your shoulder,” he said.
Cohen, Barber receive COVID vaccinations
Two public figures in North Carolina received their COVID-19 vaccinations Friday in Wake County.
Civil rights activist Rev. William Barber II joined Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, in getting publicly vaccinated against the disease.
“Let people know they don’t have to die,” Barber said. “They don’t have to get sick and go to the hospital.”
NC schools to get $1.6 billion in COVID relief
The State Board of Education on Thursday approved a policy that would distribute $1.6 billion in federal aid meant to help schools during the coronavirus pandemic.
The N.C. Department of Public Instruction will keep as much as 10% of the funds, and the rest will go to charter schools and districts. Schools can use the money for cleaning supplies, mental health support and other purposes.
The highest amount of money will go to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which is expected to get $141.9 million or more. The Wake County district is slated to receive at least $96 million, The News & Observer reported.
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 8:17 AM.
