Coronavirus total tops 4,000 in NC; third Orange County nursing home resident dies
North Carolina’s coronavirus total topped 4,000 cases Friday, rising nearly 1,000 in a week as the state braces for stricter social distance rules.
Orange County reported on Friday that an elderly resident at the PruittHealth-Carolina Point nursing home, where an outbreak has struck 60 people, had died. The patient was in hospice care and older than 70. It was the third coronavirus-related death at the facility.
“We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones,” said county Health Director Quintana Stewart. “This loss is deeply felt by our entire community. Now more than ever, each of us must do our part to prevent the spread of this virus, especially to our most vulnerable.”
NC DHHS reported 3,908 confirmed COVID-19 cases, up 257 from Thursday’s total. Of those patients, 423 remain hospitalized. The official state count shows 74 deaths from coronavirus since the first case appeared March 3.
The News & Observer is keeping a separate COVID-19 tally based on reports from the state and county health departments, which tends to be higher because the state takes longer to confirm cases. As of Friday evening, that total stood at 4,088 cases and 84 deaths.
Three people have tested positive for viral infection at a nursing home in Dare County, the sheriff’s office there announced. The three cases at Peak Resources rehab and nursing facility in Nags Head on the Outer Banks involve two residents and one staff member, according to a Facebook post by the sheriff’s office. Two of those people are Dare County residents and the third lives in another county.
North Carolina is preparing for tighter guidelines on social distancing, which kick in Monday at 5 p.m. under a new order from Gov. Roy Cooper. A violation of the new order may be prosecuted as a Class 2 misdemeanor, subject to up to 60 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
Under the order, retail stores may only admit 20 percent of the customers allowable under the local fire code — or five people per 1,000 square feet.
Stores must also mark out 6-foot spaces in checkout lines to keep people apart, a step many have already taken.
Spring, Passover and Easter during the coronavirus
DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen Friday thanked NC residents for following stay-home guidelines though spring weather combined with Passover and Easter holidays might tempt them to gather.
Since mid-March, when the governor restricted the size of public gatherings, most churches and synagogues moved to online worship services and prayer meetings. Most Holy Week events will be online, though a few churches have planned drive-in Easter morning services that will be broadcast to congregants sitting in their cars with the windows up.
In North Carolina, Easter is normally the soft launch of beach season, and many families look forward to spending the week at the coast. This year, the governor’s stay-home order and emergency actions by coastal towns will keep most non-residents, including beach-house owners whose main home is elsewhere, off the sand.
“This year is different,” Cohen said Friday in a broadcast message. “COVID-19 is here in North Carolina, and that means we have to find new ways to connect with one another and have these celebrations. Know that when you’re staying home, you’re saving lives.”
The state also struggles to contain outbreaks in its nursing homes, including a long-term care facility in Knightdale — the first such case in Wake County, where four people tested positive for COVID-19.
On Thursday, Cooper issued a new order that requires all nursing home staff in the state to wear masks, and his order has also closed off any of the homes’ common spaces.
While government officials try to slow slow the spread of COVID-19, a company in Research Triangle Park has begun trials on a potential treatment for the illness. BioCryst Pharmaceuticals, a publicly traded biotechnology company, announced it will investigate whether the company’s experimental yellow fever treatment, named galidesivir, is effective against COVID-19. BioCryst said that the antiviral treatment already has shown some activity against the coronavirus strains that cause SARS and MERS The News & Observer reported.
Case doubling slowing down
Local governments in Durham and Wake counties are working to protect people who are homeless and those living in hotels from the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported. The Durham County Board of Commissioners has voted to spend $1.6 million to rent 225 rooms at the Durham Marriott-RTP through July 9. Wake County has pledged $500,000 to help those living in hotels keep their rooms through financial hardships caused by lost wages.
In early March, when the pandemic first took hold in North Carolina, the number of cases doubled every two to three days. In more recent weeks, doubling the total has happened in closer to eight days.
The slowdown might be due to social distancing and the governor’s statewide stay-at-home order, but there is also is a delay in when tests are being reported.
“You need to account for that time lag, which is approximate 14 days,” said Julie Swann, an N.C. State University professor who has worked with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
As of Friday, the state had performed 57,645 tests.
Staff writers Jonathan Alexander, Zachary Eanes, Anna Johnson and Lucille Sherman contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 10, 2020 at 11:28 AM.
