COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 1
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Case count reaches 969,000
At least 969,752 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and 12,651 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 2,231 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, up from 1,985 the day before.
Twenty additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported Friday. Deaths don’t all occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.
Health officials reported 1,101 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Friday, down from 1,137 reported on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the latest day for which data is available, 4.8% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials have said 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Nearly half of adults in North Carolina, or 49.2%, have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. At least 40.5% are now fully vaccinated.
Across the nation, about 38% of adults are fully vaccinated. That includes more than 100 million people, federal officials said Friday.
Some NC high school athletes won’t have to wear masks outside
Under Gov. Roy Cooper’s new executive that took effect Friday, high school athletes don’t have to wear masks while playing outdoors.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association and the N.C. Independent Schools Athletic Association — the two largest governing bodies for state high school athletics — as well as Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and Wake County Schools will follow those guidelines, The Charlotte Observer reported.
NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said players on the bench also won’t have to wear masks but urged them to still practice social distancing.
“I don’t have to wear the mask while I’m out there playing,” Tucker said. “When I come (out), I should try to maintain social distancing. My teammates should do the same thing while they’re waiting.”
It will be up to individual school districts if fans will still be required to wear masks.
White neighborhoods vaccinated at higher rate in Charlotte area
Some Charlotte area ZIP codes where residents are predominately white have higher COVID-19 vaccination rates than other parts of Mecklenburg County.
“Marginalized communities in Mecklenburg’s crescent have some of the lowest rates of vaccinations, while those in the wedge — a collection of affluent neighborhoods in south Charlotte — have some of the highest,” The Charlotte Observer reported Friday.
The lowest vaccination rates are also in some of the areas where COVID-19 hit the hardest, officials said.
“It just reinforces that fact that we’ve got certain populations that are underrepresented in the vaccines that have been given up to this date,” said Gibbie Harris, public health director for Mecklenburg County. “We need to continue to focus on that and making sure that we’re making those vaccines available in those areas.”
Throughout the county, the vaccination rate was 43%, data show.
This story was originally published May 1, 2021 at 8:15 AM.
