Coronavirus omicron updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Feb. 25
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
More than 4,800 new COVID cases reported in NC
At least 2.5 million coronavirus cases have been reported in North Carolina, and at least 22,500 people have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, Feb. 25, reported 4,887 new COVID-19 cases, compared with 3,650 reported Thursday, Feb. 24.
An additional 59 coronavirus-related deaths were added to the total . Health officials don’t specify the dates on which newly reported deaths occurred.
At least 1,861 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Feb. 25, including 367 adults being treated in intensive care units, health officials said.
As of Feb. 25, the latest day for which data is available, 7.1% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 75% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and about 71% are fully vaccinated. Of the state’s total population, about 61% are fully vaccinated and about 65% have received at least one dose. State officials round vaccination numbers to the nearest whole number.
More than 3 million ”additional/booster” doses have been administered in North Carolina as of Feb. 25, the health department said. Health officials have urged those who are eligible to get boosted, as data suggests it offers increased protection against the omicron coronavirus variant.
Nearly all new COVID-19 cases in the nation were attributed to the omicron variant and its related “lineages” as of Feb. 19, the latest date for which data is available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Proud Boys, anti-mask protesters gather in Raleigh
Anti-mask and anti-vaccine protesters, some of them dressed in Proud Boys uniforms, gathered in downtown Raleigh on Friday, Feb. 25, to rally against COVID-19 mandates, The News & Observer reported.
Roughly 40 demonstrators arrived on Jones Street, some in pickup trucks and others in a tractor-trailer that had traveled from an earlier protest in Mebane, according to the newspaper. Some of them sported black and yellow clothing and waved flags that read, “Proudly Unvaccinated.”
The convoy of demonstrators reportedly had plans to block traffic downtown but agreed to move their protest to a parking lot farther down the street at the request of police. They were met by a handful of counter-protesters who stood on the opposite side of the street holding a Black Lives Matter flag, The News & Observer reported.
Read the full story here.
Mask mandates to remain optional for NC school districts
Local school boards will decide whether to continue making students wear face masks in class after North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper vetoed a bill that would let parents choose, The News & Observer reported.
“I have encouraged local boards to lift mask mandates and they are doing it across the state with the advice of health officials who see that COVID metrics are declining and vaccinations are increasing,” Cooper said in a statement.
“The bipartisan law the legislature passed and I signed last year allows local boards to make these decisions for their own communities and that is still the right course,” he continued.
Many of the state’s school districts have already made masks optional, according to The News & Observer, after the governor suggested the mandates be lifted.
The so-called “Free the Smiles” legislation, sponsored by Republican House Speaker Tim Moore, passed in the state House before it was blocked by Cooper on Thursday, Feb. 24. The bill would make face masks optional for students and end a state law requiring monthly school board votes on the issue, the newspaper reported.
“This isn’t over,” Moore wrote on Twitter on Friday. “Looking forward to overriding [Gov. Cooper’s] veto and returning this decision to parents, where it belongs.”
This story was originally published February 25, 2022 at 7:17 AM.
