COVID vaccine live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 20
Click here for updates for May 21.
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases climb past 994,000
At least 994,734 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 12,950 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 1,187 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday, up from 969 on Wednesday.
Twelve additional coronavirus-related deaths were reported Thursday. Deaths don’t all occur on the day the state reports them. The state health department revises its daily figures as information becomes available.
At least 793 people were hospitalized with the coronavirus as of Thursday, down from 820 the day before.
As of Tuesday, the latest day for which data is available, 3.3% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 52% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and 47.2% are fully vaccinated, according to the state health department.
New mask rules don’t change Charlotte graduation plans
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools will still require students and their guests to wear a mask at graduation ceremonies next week, even after Gov. Roy Cooper lifted the statewide mask mandate.
Masks are still required in schools given that most students aren’t vaccinated, The Charlotte Observer reported.
CMS has said students, staff and guests will be required to wear face coverings inside school buildings and on CMS transportation. Students and staff also must wear masks at off-site venues, including Bojangles Coliseum, Ovens Auditorium and the Charlotte Convention Center. Guests at off-site venues are encouraged to also wear a face covering.
NC legislators propose paying people to get a job
Republican lawmakers introduced legislation Thursday that would offer people up to $1,500 to go off unemployment and get a job.
Under the proposal, the legislature would redirect federal unemployment money to signing bonuses — $1,500 for unemployed people who start a new job by June 1, or $800 for people who start a new job between June 2 and July 1, The News & Observer reported.
“It goes against the grain to me that we got to pay people to go to work,” said Republican Sen. Tom McInnis of Ellerbe. “But we don’t have a choice.”
The proposal mirrors incentives some businesses have already begun offering workers. In Charlotte, the restaurant group FS Food Groups is offering a one-time $100 employee bonus.
Restaurant chain Tupelo Honey has a sign-on bonus of $600; Five Guys is offering a $300 hiring bonus; and Carowinds will give $500 bonuses to all seasonal hires, The Charlotte Observer reported. Amazon is also offering a $1,000 sign-on bonus and an additional $100 for fully COVID-19 vaccinated.
Man accused of using COVID loans to cover tracks in fraud case
A man is accused of helping to steal at least $200,000 from a North Carolina booster club and using COVID-19 business loans to cover up the scheme, federal prosecutors said.
Anthony Sharper, former booster club president at South Mecklenburg High School in Charlotte, and his wife Deana were indicted in the theft case, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
Sharper also is accused of filing for relief money meant to help businesses struggling during COVID-19. He used some of the funds on athletics at the high school but spent much of it on “unlawful business or personal expenses,” the Observer reported.
An attorney for Sharper said he had no comment as of Wednesday, and the school’s principal and athletics director didn’t respond to calls and emails.
Judge tosses bar owner’s lawsuit
A superior court judge in Durham County dismissed a bar owner’s lawsuit alleging the COVID-19 emergency orders violated his constitutional rights.
The judge determined Kevin Slater, owner of The Atomic Fern, didn’t meet the legal standard to hold the government responsible for actions taken during the pandemic, The News & Observer reported. Special deputy attorney general Matthew Tulchin, though sympathetic to their plight, said bar owners don’t have a constitutional claim in this instance.
“To allow plaintiffs to assert claims against the executive orders that were issued during the course of an emergency public health issue would severely restrict the state’s ability to respond to such urgency in the future,” Tulchin said.
Cooper proposes more COVID grants for parents
North Carolina is getting $5.7 billion from the American Rescue Plan, some of which Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday he plans to put toward new grants for low- and middle-income families.
Under his proposal, the state government would allocate $250 million to new grants, The News & Observer reported. Lower-income families with adjusted gross incomes of $15,000 to $30,000 would receive $500 while middle-income families making $30,000 to $60,000 in 2019 would get $250.
Cooper also said the funds would go to broadband internet extension, affordable housing, water, storm water and sewer, and testing for asbestos at public schools and child care centers.
Wake schools to pay teachers thousands to work in summer program
Wake County school system teachers who agree to work in a new summer learning program will be paid $45 an hour.
The district’s school board on Tuesday voted to allow people to receive thousands of dollars if they work in the state-mandated program, which is designed to address learning loss during the coronavirus pandemic.
The pay is meant to encourage teachers to work during the summer and is higher than what most district workers earn, The News & Observer reported Wednesday.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools to host weekend vaccine clinics
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is offering COVID-19 vaccines at clinics set to be held this weekend at seven locations.
Through partnerships with health care providers, the district is offering shots by appointment and on a walk-in basis. The vaccination clinics are scheduled for Saturday at Hopewell High School, JT Williams Montessori School, McClintock Middle School, Phillip O. Berry Academy of Technology, Rocky River High School, South Mecklenburg High School and Windsor Park Elementary School.
More details about the vaccine sites are available here.
The clinics are planned as roughly 42% of Mecklenburg County residents have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine and about 37% are fully vaccinated.
As vaccine supply exceeds demand, Mecklenburg County Deputy Public Health Director Raynard Washington said the challenge moves to reaching residents who aren’t seeking out the shots and reducing barriers to getting them, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.
This story was originally published May 20, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
