Coronavirus omicron updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Dec. 21
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We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
More than 2,800 cases reported
At least 1,602,489 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus, and at least 19,183 have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Tuesday, Dec. 21, reported 2,894 new COVID-19 cases, slightly up from 2,892 the day before.
There were 16 additional coronavirus-related deaths on Dec. 21. Health officials don’t specify the dates on which newly reported deaths occurred.
At least 1,682 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 on Dec. 21, including 440 adults being treated in intensive care units, health officials said.
As of Dec. 19, the latest date with available information, 10.3% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 73% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and about 69% have been fully vaccinated. Out of the state’s total population, about 58% are fully vaccinated and 62% have received at least one dose. State officials round vaccination numbers to the nearest whole number.
Wake website back after crash amid scramble to book COVID tests
Wake County’s website was restored just after 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 21, after a software update caused it to crash in the morning, hindering residents’ ability to book COVID-19 test appointments ahead of the holiday.
People could still sign up for a vaccine or test online, even while the county website was down, The News & Observer reported.
COVID-19 tests could be booked at https://wakegov.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6A37b8HlUPXbTrU, while vaccine appointments were available at https://wakegov.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_bDSxDSuxacKYs8C.
A Wake County spokesperson said they had about 8,000 open testing appointments before Christmas as of Tuesday morning.
Two Charlotte universities will require booster shots
Queens University and Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte will now require students, faculty and staff to get a COVID-19 booster shot before the start of the spring semester.
The deadline for compliance at Queens is Feb. 15, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Johnson & Wales set a deadline of March 1, or within 30 days of becoming booster eligible.
How to prepare for post-holiday COVID spike
Health experts shared tips with The News & Observer about how residents can prepare for a possible surge in COVID-19 cases after the holidays, including having some at-home test kits on hand and air filtration systems in your house.
Dr. Matthew Koci, a virologist at NC State, said people can open a window or set up air filters to get virus particles out of the air. One way to do that is to construct a Corsi-Rosenthal box using a cheap fan and HEPA filters.
“They aren’t much to look at,” he said. “They aren’t going to get you on the cover of Southern Living, but they get the job done.”
Koci and Dr. Julie Swann, head of the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at North Carolina State University, also urged people to get vaccinated against the coronavirus and keep wearing masks.
UNC holds special meeting to discuss omicron
The UNC-CH Faculty Executive Committee will hold a special meeting on Thursday, Dec. 23, to discuss a potential surge in COVID-19 cases caused by the omicron variant.
According to the meeting notice, the committee will discuss “COVID-19 operations for the spring semester,” which is slated to begin Jan. 10, The News & Observer reported.
The meeting comes on the heels of announcements from state health officials warning about the omicron variant’s impact on North Carolina, including potential record-breaking hospitalizations and up to 10,000 new daily COVID-19 cases.
UNC games to have ‘greater enforcement’ as COVID spreads
Instead of just recommending face mask-wearing in the Dean E. Smith Center, UNC-Chapel Hill plans to enforce the practice during its Dec. 21 men’s basketball game.
Bubba Cunningham, the school’s athletics director, told his department’s coaches and staff they must return to the “best mitigating factors that we can” to help slow the spread of COVID-19.
“So we have to mask more often, we have to separate a bit more, we have to travel a little bit differently — we’re back to where we were,” Cunningham said, according to the N&O. “The other thing that we’re going to change by Tuesday, we’re gonna have to have greater enforcement in the arena. It hasn’t been very good.”
Throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference, teams have had to change their schedules due to the coronavirus pandemic.
What to know about getting COVID tests in Charlotte, Triangle
Demand for COVID-19 tests may spike as the omicron variant spreads, but there are still options in the Triangle and Charlotte area.
Near Charlotte, Mecklenburg County offers a limited supply of free at-home COVID-19 test kits for those who face barriers to testing.
Multiple CVS locations in the Charlotte area also offer PCR tests, with results taking up to two days. Walgreens offers the same, but appointment times are limited, The Charlotte Observer reported.
Some retailers carry at-home COVID-19 test kits, including from BinaxNOW, InteliSwab, QuickVue and Labcorp Pixel, though they may be out of stock. StarMed continues to offer free testing at various locations in Mecklenburg County, with the number of sites diminishing as Christmas nears.
In the Triangle, there are testing sites in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, including options listed on the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services website. Though Wake County’s website was down as of early afternoon Dec. 21, people can still book COVID-19 testing online, The News & Observer reported.
For those who want at-home test kits, residents may want to visit the Labcorp website, call a health care provider or pick one up at a pharmacy, the N&O reported.
A complete list of testing options in Charlotte can be found here, and sites in the Triangle can be found here.
Cooper warns omicron could cause post-holiday spike
Gov. Roy Cooper said residents should get tested for COVID-19 before holiday gatherings as health officials warned North Carolina could see as many as 10,000 new daily cases in January triggered by the omicron variant.
Every hospital in the state currently has an omicron case, health officials said during a briefing on Monday, Dec. 20. Outgoing Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen said it’s moving fast enough to become the dominant variant by early January.
“Then we may have both delta and omicron side by side,” she said.
The omicron variant is four to six times as contagious as the original virus, Cohen said, adding that people should only travel if they are fully vaccinated, have gotten their booster shot and take a COVID-19 test in advance.
Cooper said vaccinations are the most effective way to combat the virus, The News & Observer reported.
“Many people are going to get infected, including some who are vaccinated, but the most important difference between the vaccinated and unvaccinated is how sick you get,” Cooper said. “The evidence is clear that vaccinated and especially boosted people are so much safer.”
Triangle hospitals brace for hard winter
Triangle-area hospitals are readying for a surge in COVID-19 patients after the holidays, with statewide hospitalizations already rising more than 55% since mid-November.
That spike has been attributed in-part to Thanksgiving travel, The News & Observer reported. A similar uptick is expected following Christmas and New Year’s.
“We understand the human need to be together, particularly at the holidays,” said Dr. Lisa Pickett, chief medical officer at Duke University Hospital in Durham. “But they’re being with people that they don’t live with, that they haven’t been with recently. And the normal things are to share food together, which is a high-risk activity for virus transmission. And it’s colder, so it’s harder to do those things outside.”
There were 40 COVID-19 patients at Duke University Hospital on Monday, Dec. 20 — double the number from early November, according to the N&O. Most of those patients are unvaccinated.
The highly transmissible omicron variant and return of the flu season could compound the surge, medical experts said.
“We’re starting to plan for kind of that twindemic situation where even if COVID is mild and flu is mild, the combination of the two may be pretty painful,” said Dr. David Kirk, a pulmonologist and critical care specialist at WakeMed in Raleigh.
Duke to require COVID boosters after holiday break
Duke University in Durham said it will require students and workers to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot before they come back from the holiday break.
The groups will need to show proof of a booster dose in January or as soon as they are eligible to receive one. While Duke is scheduled to begin its spring semester on Jan. 5, the omicron variant could impact those plans, The News & Observer reported.
“We are closely monitoring national, local and campus conditions in consultation with our infectious disease and public health specialists to determine if we need to make any changes in plans for the start of the Spring semester in January,” Duke officials said in their announcement.
Omicron variant cases reported in Durham County
Durham County has reported six cases of the omicron coronavirus variant.
They mark the Triangle-area county’s first known cases of the variant, officials said on Dec. 20.
“We have been monitoring the spread of Omicron in the state and country since it was first identified, and we have been prepared for its arrival in Durham,” Rod Jenkins, public health director for Durham County, said in a news release.
During the pandemic, there have been more than 37,000 coronavirus cases in Durham County, data from Dec. 17 shows. Tests are coming back positive about 4.6% of the time, just below the 5% target, The News & Observer reported.
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 7:14 AM.
