Increased testing means more NC cases. DMV closes office, retailers prepare to open.
North Carolina officials said Thursday that increased testing accounted for the largest one-day jump so far in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases. They held to the plan for lifting some of the state’s restrictions to curb the virus starting at 5 p.m. Friday.
As of Thursday, the state had confirmed more than 13,000 illnesses and more than 500 deaths due to COVID-19.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services officially reported 13,397 confirmed cases of COVID-19, an increase of 639 from Wednesday. There have been 507 deaths, an increase of 30 from Wednesday’s totals.
The state also reported 171,328 completed tests, up 6,846 from Wednesday. There were 525 people hospitalized, an increase of nine from the day before.
Phase One of Governor Roy Cooper’s plan is set to begin Friday at 5 p.m. In this phase, more businesses will be allowed to open at half-capacity and gatherings of as many as 10 people will be allowed as long as the proper physical distancing is maintained.
During an online media briefing Thursday afternoon, DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen acknowledged the highest day-over-day increase so far and said the numbers have to be put into the context of total tests conducted.
“Yesterday was a huge testing day for us, with something like 8,000 new tests,” Cohen said. “The percent positive of that stays pretty low — 6 percent, 7 percent for day-over-day. That continues to be a good trend.
“We know there is more virus out there so we knew we were going to find more cases,” she said. “So as I see those numbers I think it is definitely something we want to watch. We know we are not perfect. We know this virus is here with us. That is why as we move forward we didn’t say let’s open up everyone all at once. We are taking a measured approach.”
Of the state’s 100 counties, only Avery County has been without a confirmed or reported positive case of COVID-19.
The state was averaging 401 newly reported daily cases over the past seven days as of Wednesday.
State officials said Wednesday that 8% of the COVID-19 tests administered have been positive.
The News & Observer is keeping its own tally of coronavirus cases based on data from the state and county health departments. As of Thursday morning, there were 13,478 reported cases in 99 counties and 514 deaths.
DMV closes headquarters for illness
The state Division of Motor Vehicles headquarters on New Bern Avenue was evacuated and closed Thursday after an employee there tested positive for coronavirus, The News & Observer reported.
The employee, who was last in the building on Wednesday, worked on a floor that is not open to the public, said spokesman Steve Abbott. Public health officials from either the state or the county will try to track down anyone who might have come in contact with the employee while at work and provide them with information about COVID-19 and its symptoms.
Abbott said the floor where the employee works normally has about 80 people on it, but he said many employees have been working at home.
It’s not clear how long the two headquarters buildings will be closed. The DMV will hire a contractor to clean and disinfect the buildings before employees are allowed back in, Abbott said.
The license plate agency on the ground floor of the main building, where most public business is conducted, has been closed for several weeks as a precaution. DMV also has closed more than half of its 115 driver’s license offices statewide and sees people by appointment only in the rest.
Retailers get ready to open their doors
With the restrictions of the governor’s stay-home order to begin easing Friday evening, some retail stores that have been limited to online and curbside sales are preparing to welcome back in-store shoppers.
Belk announced Thursday it will reopen its 64 North Carolina stores on Monday, The News & Observer reported. Belk already has reopened stores in South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Arkansas and Oklahoma. Stores in Florida, Texas, Alabama and Mississippi are set to reopen Friday, according to a company news release.
Under the governor’s plan for Phase One, retail stores will be allowed to operate at 50% capacity to allow people to stay at least 6 feet apart, and they must adhere to new rules about cleaning.
The Charlotte-based chain temporarily closed all 291 stores in 16 states in March, furloughed employees and reduced senior employee staff pay by 50%. Belk has 12 locations in the Charlotte area and 14 in the Triangle area.
Some events canceled; RNC still on
The governor’s plan does not say exactly when concerts, street festivals or other large-scale events can resume, and organizers have canceled plans for several popular events that would have been held in the state this spring or summer.
Merlefest, normally held in late April, was taken off the calendar, along with the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, usually held the second weekend of July. On Thursday, organizers of the annual Festival for the Eno in Durham said it will not be held this July, The News & Observer reported..
“This was a difficult decision to make,” festival director Greg Bell said in an email statement, “but the uncertainty and risks to our community members’ health are simply too high to allow us to continue with planning an event of this complexity and magnitude for this July.”
The music and arts festival started in 1980, and is held at Durham’s West Point on the Eno City Park. It raises money to conserve land in the Eno River basin.
The Republican National Convention is still on in Charlotte from Aug. 24-27, but with the pandemic expected to linger through the summer, organizers said Thursday they have hired a veteran health expert with national security experience to help ensure the event’s safety, The News & Observer reported.
Dr. Jeffrey Runge, a former medical director for the Department of Homeland Security and one-time clinical research director at Carolinas Medical Center, will serve as the convention’s health and safety advisor. The convention is expected to bring 50,000 people to Charlotte.
“We recognize this hasn’t been done before, but we remain committed to leading the path forward so that we can safely re-open America and create a five-star event for attendees and guests this August,” convention President and CEO Marcia Lee Kelly said in a statement.
Kelly told reporters last month that “public safety is paramount,” even if delegates have to wear masks and social distance in the arena.
Closed restaurants have attracted burglars in Durham
With restaurants and bars closed because of the coronavirus, downtown Durham has seen at least three restaurant break-ins over the past week, The News & Observer reported.
That someone felt emboldened to smash in the glass of a front door shows just how empty it is in the city center.
When he first found out that the front door of his downtown Durham coffee shop and jazz bar Beyu Caffe had been smashed in, Dorian Bolden admits he was angry. But anger turned to pity, to sadness and maybe even empathy for whoever broke in, Bolden said.
“There’s always a thing about being violated, having things damaged that are yours,” Bolden said. “But after this period of anger, there was a level of sadness. I don’t come from a silver spoon, so I understand the nature of it, this current economic situation, there’s a level of desperation and hard times. Some people are really struggling.”
Wine bar Bar Brunello and decades-old sandwich shop King’s also reported break-ins and broken windows on their social media accounts.
No grades for high school seniors
With a few weeks left to go on the public schools’ traditional-calendar academic year, the state Board of Education voted Thursday to hold to its decision to limit high school seniors to either a “pass” or “withdraw” on their final-semester classes. The board first made the decision in March but was asked to revisit it on behalf of students who might want to receive grades for their classes to improve their grade-point averages, The News & Observer reported.
Most board members said it was too late to change, since some seniors already have graduated.
The vote largely followed political lines. Three board members appointed by former Republican Gov. Pat McCrory voted for the change, while seven members appointed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper voted to stand by the March decision.
Eric Davis, the board chairman and a McCrory appointee, voted with the Democrats.
Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Forest, who is a state board member, wasn’t present for the vote. But he had a statement read at the meeting saying seniors should be allowed to choose how they’re graded.
Forest is running for governor this fall against Cooper
Seniors will get a passing grade for a course if they were passing as of March 13 — the last day before Cooper ordered schools to close to try to reduce the spread of illness.
Staff writers Keung Hui, Drew Jackson, Richard Stradling and Steve Wiseman contributed to this report, along with Jim Morrill and Catherine Muccigrosso of The Charlotte Observer.
This story was originally published May 7, 2020 at 11:34 AM.
