COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on March 20
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Case count exceeds 895,000
At least 895,263 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 11,820 have died since last March, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,034 new coronavirus cases on Saturday, up from 1,915 on Friday and 2,004 on Thursday.
Fifteen additional deaths were reported Saturday. Friday’s 22 additional deaths raised the statewide toll above 500 deaths this month. Deaths don’t all occur on the day the state reports them, and the state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.
At least 964 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Saturday, down from 970 on Friday and 995 Thursday.
As of Saturday, 4.9% of coronavirus tests were reported positive, up from 4% on Wednesday, the latest previous day for which data is available. Health officials have said 5% or lower is the target rate to control the spread of the virus.
More than 3.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in North Carolina, and more than 1.4 million people in the state have been fully vaccinated as of Thursday. That includes 16.5% of adults in the state.
CDC eases guidelines as more students return to classrooms
At least 40 of North Carolina’s 115 school districts voted in the last week to switch middle and high school students to Plan A with daily in-person instruction.
“At some point we have to say we’re going to push through and we’re going to, for the kids’ sake, for their social being, their mental health, as well as their educational progress,” Union County school board member Gary Sides said at an emergency meeting Monday. “We’re going to move on in trying to get back to some resemblance of normal.”
The changes have occurred as the CDC issued new guidelines Friday allowing K-12 students to sit just 3 feet apart instead of the previously recommended 6 feet, The News & Observer reported.
But Tamika Walker Kelly, president of the North Carolina Association of Educators, said they need more details as to why the guidelines were changed.
“We are concerned that the CDC has changed one of the basic rules for how to ensure school safety without demonstrating certainty that the change is justified by the science and can be implemented in a manner that does not detract from the larger long-term needs of students,” Kelly said in a statement.
CMS weighs more in-person classroom days
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Superintendent Earnest Winston is expected to recommend looser COVID-19 restrictions for middle and high school students at next week’s board meeting, district officials said Friday.
Those recommendations will likely include a push for older students to move to Plan A with daily in-person instruction and minimal social distancing, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The school board previously voted to approve a four-day in-person schedule under Plan A for elementary students that is expected to begin on Monday.
Most middle and high school students are currently rotating in classrooms two days per week, according to The Observer.
Health officials warn about traveling over spring break
A public health advisory issued in Mecklenburg County on Friday warns residents against traveling over spring break to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and prevent more contagious variants from spreading.
“Spring break is upon us, and we know that this is going to have some potential impact, if it’s consistent with what we saw over the holidays,” Public Health Director Gibbie Harris said. “We’re a bit concerned about travel.”
Spring break is scheduled for April 1-9 for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, The Charlotte Observer reported. UNC Charlotte already had its spring break in February.
If residents do travel, health officials encourage them to get tested one to three days before their trip and within three to five days of returning home.
Mecklenburg passes 100,000 COVID cases
Mecklenburg County has passed 100,000 lab-confirmed infections of COVID-19, a little over a year after reporting its first case on March 12, 2020.
Half of those cases came in the last three months after a spike in cases that began in December, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The news comes one day after Mecklenburg County surpassed a different milestone — 100,000 doses of the vaccine administered. The county passed the benchmark Wednesday morning with 9.2% of residents — or 101,651 people — fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, The Charlotte Observer reported. Close to 15% of the population has been partially vaccinated.
It’s the second county in the state to pass the 100,000 vaccine threshold after Wake County.
County health officials have said the coronavirus caseload in Mecklenburg is stable, but warn the pandemic is not over. With an average of more than 170 new cases each day over the last week, case numbers are still higher than mid-October — when the county experienced a brief period of stability with a 7-day moving average of roughly 130 cases.
Chapel Hill-Carrboro schools ready for in-person classes
Chapel Hill-Carrboro students will start a hybrid Plan B with both in-person and virtual classes on Monday after the school board unanimously voted to approve the new schedule Thursday.
“We fully appreciate — every one of the board members here — that it is challenging for families who are sending kids back to have Wednesdays (remote),” board member Mary Ann Wolf said. However, the services the district will be able to provide are “so important” for remote learners, as well as those attending in person who may need additional support, she and others said.
Elementary students, students with specialized education plans, and children of district staff in grades preK-8 will start four days of in-person learning after spring break ends on April 5. But families who don’t want to send their students to school can keep them in virtual classes, The News & Observer reported.
Middle and high school students will start the Plan B hybrid on Monday with two days a week of in-person classes.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 8:27 AM.
