Coronavirus omicron updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Feb. 28
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We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus and vaccines in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
70 additional deaths reported
At least 2,589,517 coronavirus cases have been reported in North Carolina, and at least 22,570 people have died since March 2020, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday, Feb. 28, reported 909 new COVID-19 cases, down from 2,122 reported Feb. 27 and 3,082 on Feb. 26. The state health department doesn’t update case counts over the weekends.
An additional 70 coronavirus-related deaths were added to the total.
At least 1,618 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Feb. 28, including 324 adults being treated in intensive care units, health officials said. The total number of patients was slightly up from 1,611 the day before.
As of Feb. 26, the latest date with available information, 6.9% 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 3.1 million ”additional/booster” doses have been administered in North Carolina as of Feb. 28, 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 Feb. 19, the latest date for which data is available, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Face masks not required on Wake school buses
The Wake County School system announced on Monday, Feb. 28, that face masks will not be required on school buses after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention dropped its overarching mandate.
School officials said masks will be recommended, but not required, beginning March 7, The News & Observer reported.
“It is possible that state action this week could remove the mask requirement sooner on all buses,” Wake said in the message. “We will monitor and send any updates as warranted.”
Durham restaurant to reopen for first time since COVID
A restaurant in Durham built on its intimate atmosphere will reopen March 4 for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic shut down businesses across the state in March 2020.
Littler, owned by Gary Brooks, is “one of Durham’s most intimate restaurants,” The News & Observer reported.
“It’s our most convivial, most elbow-to-elbow, most like a dinner party restaurant,” Brooks said. “That intimacy and closeness, those are the sort of things that were most of all lost for the last two years.”
Littler couldn’t offer takeout or outdoor seating like many other restaurants did during the pandemic. That’s because “the whole point is to be with people,” Brooks told The N&O.
“Anyone can have a great meal at home, whether they make it or pick it up,” he said. “This is a whole different experience. Littler is only about that, more than our other restaurants, it’s representative of what we lost in the pandemic.”
Banks with ties to Charlotte close branches during COVID
Hundreds of bank branches shut their doors during COVID-19, including 17 in Charlotte, a new report finds.
The closures make up about 3.3% of branches in the city, according to a study of figures from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Nationwide, banks more than doubled the rate in which they closed branches during the pandemic.
Some of the companies experiencing the biggest impacts have ties to the Charlotte area. Those include Bank of America, Truist and Wells Fargo, which all closed hundreds of locations from 2017 to 2021, The Charlotte Observer reported.
“I don’t see any indication that these closures are going to slow down,” said Jason Richardson, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s senior director of research. “Banks are on a closing spree.”
This story was originally published February 28, 2022 at 1:43 PM.
