Coronavirus omicron updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on March 18
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
More than 1,700 new cases
At least 2,616,864 coronavirus cases have been reported in North Carolina, and at least 23,058 people have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Friday, March 18, reported 1,740 new COVID-19 cases, up from 1,223 the day before. An additional 28 coronavirus-related deaths were added to the total.
At least 723 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of March 18, including 126 adults being treated in intensive care units. The patient count was down from 768 the day before.
As of March 16, the latest date with available information, 2.3% of coronavirus tests were reported positive. Health officials say 5% or lower is the target rate to slow the spread of the virus.
Roughly 76% of adults in North Carolina have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine, and about 72% 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 3.2 million ”additional/booster” doses have been administered in North Carolina as of March 18, 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.
Across the nation, virtually all new COVID-19 cases were attributed to the omicron variant and its related “lineages” as of March 12, the latest date for which data is available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Group wanting class rankings to end says COVID made competition worse
A group is calling on Raleigh-area and state education leaders to end high school class rankings.
The families say the Wake County practice puts students in competitive high schools at a disadvantage. They think the issue has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic, which forced North Carolina schools to hold remote classes.
“As a result, the State Board of Education approved a temporary policy change where high school freshmen, sophomores and juniors could use their numerical grade as of March 13, 2020 as their final grade for spring courses,” The News & Observer reported. Students could also take a PC19 or WC19 grade — showing they passed or withdrew from a class — which wouldn’t count on their GPA.”
Some students at Green Level High School reportedly chose to skip numerical grades, which “artificially” raised their GPAs, the N&O reported. Also, a hybrid class schedule meant some students weren’t able to get advanced courses they wanted.
“You guys are intentionally printing useless and damaging data,” parent Ruth Willenborg told the Wake County school board. “You are deliberately harming the students of Wake County by not addressing these issues. Please get the policies fixed at whatever level you need to.”
NC introduces 7 new metrics for charting COVID
North Carolina is making new categories of data available on its COVID-19 dashboard to track the severity and spread of the virus, expanding on its previous metrics such as daily case counts and hospitalizations.
The new figures, which start March 23, will include wastewater sampling data; the percentage of people going to emergency departments with COVID-19-like illness; hospital admissions for COVID-19; reported COVID-19 cases; booster shot rates; COVID-19 variants currently present in North Carolina; and the level of community spread as determined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The News & Observer breaks down what to know about the measurements here.
Bill would let states use COVID funds for affordable housing
A new bill introduced in Congress would allow states like North Carolina to utilize pandemic relief funds for affordable housing projects.
Under the LIFELINE Act, federal rules would no longer prevent government entities from putting COVID-19 relief funds toward “building or preserving affordable housing projects that use low-income housing tax credits,” The Charlotte Observer reported.
It is sponsored by U.S. Rep. Alma Adams, a Mecklenburg Democrat.
“Unfortunately, just like other cities across the country, our community is facing an affordable housing crisis,” Adams said in a video announcing the legislation.
Records show governor’s COVID response
The News & Observer analyzed 1,886 pages of records detailing what executive branch leaders were doing and saying in December 2020, when COVID-19 vaccines first arrived in North Carolina and the state was still operating under a mask mandate and curfews.
The N&O requested the records in March 2021, which took nearly a year to fulfill.
Correspondence from the governor’s office appeared to be limited at that time, in which most messages sent to Gov. Roy Cooper were seeking his approval on statements for the media or news releases. According to The N&O’s analysis, his responses ranged from “Ok” to edits, comments and an occasional question.
A closer look at what the records contained, from messages about the historic arrival of vaccines in North Carolina to directives for local governments on enforcing statewide orders, can be found here.
Gov. Cooper says NC entering ‘new phase’ of pandemic
Gov. Roy Cooper said North Carolina is beginning a “new phase” of its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The worst is over,” he said Thursday during a news conference.
Starting March 23, the state will cut back its COVID-19 case updates to once a week, after reporting them almost daily. The state will also reduce some of the data it collects, The News & Observer reported.
“Data will continue to drive our response as it has through the entire pandemic, but some metrics no longer measure the moment,” said Kody Kinsley, secretary of the state’s Department of Health and Human Services. “Some that you are used to seeing, like the percentage of positive tests, will no longer be our focus.”
The news comes as the state’s coronavirus metrics have been showing improvement. North Carolina on March 17 added about 1,200 coronavirus cases, down from the record of more than 44,800 daily cases reported Jan. 13.
Wake reduces COVID testing, vaccine appointments
Wake County Public Health has started to limit the number of appointments it offers for COVID-19 testing and vaccines.
“This is a great sign of the progress we’re making in bringing case numbers down and reducing community spread of the virus,” Sig Hutchinson, county commission chair, said in a news release.
As of March 17, Wake is offering about 1,900 appointments for tests and 1,015 for vaccines each day.
The county previously had 8,000 slots available for tests and about 2,000 for shots. But on average, it was seeing lower demand, The News & Observer reported.
Anyone interested in signing up can visit wakegov.com/covid.
Elsewhere in the Triangle, Orange County said it isn’t cutting back on its testing and vaccine offerings. Durham County wants to “ensure efficient use of our vaccination clinic staffing as demand within our clinic decreases” but doesn’t plan to scale back its hours, said Alecia Smith, a Durham County Public Health Department spokesperson.
This story was originally published March 18, 2022 at 7:03 AM.
