NC starts Phase One of easing coronavirus rules. Leaders say they want to see more testing.
On the day the state began Phase One of relaxing restrictions during the coronavirus pandemic, there were 13,868 reported cases of COVID-19 and 527 total deaths reported Friday.
Meanwhile, Wake County high school seniors learned that traditional graduation ceremonies won’t be happening this year, and a national analysis said North Carolina isn’t testing as many people for coronavirus as many other states.
Phase One of Gov. Roy Cooper’s plan to reopen businesses and relax restrictions started Friday at 5 p.m. In Phase One, which could last two or three weeks, 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.
But both some local businesses and national retailers don’t expect to open until next week or even later.
The daily totals posted by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services showed that 7,285 new tests for the virus had been completed since Thursday and there were 471 newly reported positive cases in 99 counties. That was a positive rate of 6.5%.
The 471 newly reported cases came a day after the state reported 639 new cases, the highest day-over-day increase since the coronavirus was first diagnosed in NC on March 3.
On Friday, the death total rose by 20 people while current hospitalizations declined by 10 — to 515 — from the day before, DHHS reported.
The state reported Thursday that 6,846 tests were completed Wednesday and that there were 639 confirmed cases, or 9.3%. The overall rate Friday was 7.8 percent on more than 178,000 completed tests.
Of the state’s 100 counties, only Avery County has been without a confirmed or reported positive case of COVID-19.
Three children test positive in NC county
Three children, including an infant, have tested positive for coronavirus in Robeson County, bucking the statewide trend of the pandemic striking mostly middle-age and elderly patients, The News & Observer reported.
The Robeson County Health Department reported 31 new reported cases Thursday, bringing its total to 354, among the highest totals in the state. Besides the 6-month-old, the other infected children are ages 9 and 11, the health department said on its Facebook page.
The report stands out in North Carolina because 42% of all positive test results statewide come from people ages 25 to 49 and another 48% are older, according to DHHS. So far, only 3% of the state’s reported cases occurred in people under 17.
NC lags behind nation in testing
North Carolina is testing a smaller percentage of its residents for the coronavirus than most other states, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis has found.
North Carolina ranks 43rd in the nation in tests per 1,000 residents, according to data analyzed through May 7 from The COVID Tracking Project. The state has a result for 15.7 people per 1,000 — ahead of nine states or territories.
North Carolina has about 10.5 million residents. The state had completed 178,613 tests as of 11 a.m. on May 8, The News & Observer reported.
Rhode Island, by comparison, has results for 74.9 per 1,000 population, tops in the country. New York, the hardest-hit state, is second at 52.9 per 1,000. More than 8.1 million tests have been completed nationwide.
North Carolina ranks 15th out of the 55 states and territories included in the list in overall completed tests.
“The governor and I want to see more testing going on across the state, particularly in our under-served communities,” the DHHS’s Cohen said Friday at a news conference. At an online press conference Friday afternoon, Cooper and Cohen addressed testing and another vexing problem: access to unemployment benefits.
Cohen said there was a period of time when supply chain limitations meant stricter criteria to get a test, but now, anyone who needs a test should be able to get one.
“We also want anyone who’s been exposed to COVID-19 to have a test,” she said. “Anyone who needs a test in North Carolina can get a test right now.”
She also said, however, that the state is hitting its testing goals, one of the measures Cooper is using in his plan to ease restrictions. Cohen said earlier that the state wanted to be conducting 5,000 to 7,000 tests a day. For seven of the past 10 days, she said, the state has conducted about 6,000 tests a day.
When asked by a reporter about problems applicants have had with error messages when they apply online for unemployment benefits, and the length of time it is taking for applications to be approved, Cooper said the state Division of Employment Security Commission is working to improve. The division has expanded its staff to more than 1,000 workers, and has added an online chat function. It has also expanded hours into the weekend and evening, he said.
The state says more than 907,000 North Carolinians have filed for unemployment benefits due to COVID-19.
Roughly half, 470,000, have received those benefits. The state has also had 177,743 unemployment claims not related to the coronavirus.
High school graduation plans scrambled
The Wake County school system announced Friday the cancellation of traditional in-person high school graduation ceremonies, saying schools could hold virtual events and possibly schedule additional celebrations later.
More than 11,000 Wake County high school seniors are scheduled to graduate at ceremonies that had been planned in May and June, mainly at the Raleigh Convention Center. But Wake County school board chairman Keith Sutton said Friday the events, which draw thousands of people, cannot go on yet.
“I wish from the bottom of my heart that we could have traditional graduation ceremonies,” Sutton said at a news conference Friday. “But in the end, we cannot jeopardize the safety of our students, families, their friends and loved ones.”
Sutton said the plan they’re strongly considering is for Wake’s 34 high schools to hold virtual video graduation ceremonies in June. If health conditions allow, he said high schools would follow them up with customized events in June or July.
The decision was made after meeting this week with Wake high school principals and seniors, and follows guidance from the state Department of Public Instruction that graduation ceremonies need to adhere to state rules on social distancing and public gathering limits.
Schools were told they could use options such as drive-in or drive-through ceremonies and individualized ceremonies. Some Durham high schools plan to hold graduation ceremonies on their campuses while others will have ceremonies in the parking lot at The Streets at Southpoint mall, The News & Observer reported.
Sutton and Superintendent Cathy Moore said they hope to provide Wake families with more details about graduation next week.
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Retail reopenings will be staggered
Small businesses and large retailers alike are making plans to reopen at 50% capacity, with strict cleaning rules and social-distancing measures in place. But some won’t be ready until the weekend or next week.
Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh will officially open Monday and The Streets at Southpoint in Durham will open Tuesday in Durham. Both are working on measures to make concourses and stores more sanitary and safe for customers and employees.
Both malls are taking actions like limiting hours, changing out air filters more often than usual, adding more hand sanitizer stations and putting more space between tables in common areas.
The opening of individual stores within malls will vary, and customers are encouraged to call particular stores to check their hours.
Staff writers Trent Brown, Brooke Cain, Keung Hui , Brian Murphy and Josh Shaffer contributed to this report.
This story was originally published May 8, 2020 at 11:31 AM.
