NC coronavirus cases rise as more tests are administered. Reopening plan starts Friday.
North Carolina’s coronavirus illness and death counts continued to rise Wednesday, while the state inched closer to reopening some businesses and expanding educational and recreational options.
The state’s COVID-19 case total rose by more than 500 Wednesday, and the state added another 25 people to the pandemic’s death toll.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 12,758 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 502 from Tuesday’s total. Across the state, fatalities from the virus rose to 477 people.
The state’s total is based on the number of positive test results, and DHHS has said that reports are rising in part because testing is increasing. As of Wednesday morning, North Carolina had conducted 164,482 coronavirus tests, up more than 12,000 from Tuesday.
The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 dropped by 18 Wednesday, bringing the total to 516. Fewer people in hospitals is one of the benchmarks for the state’s gradual reopening. So far reported cases of the pandemic have reached 99 of the state’s 100 counties — all but sparsely populated Avery on the Tennessee border.
Meanwhile, DHHS and East Carolina University are trying to match available health care workers with health care providers, particularly long-term facilities, that are strapped for employees.
Workers who have been laid off or need extra hours can register at https://nc.readyop.com/fs/4cjq/697b and volunteers with the nursing staff at ECU will connect them based on skill and need. Registered nurses and certified nursing assistants are especially sought-after.
Based on data through April 9, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 9,282 coronavirus cases among health care workers in the United States, The News & Observer has reported. The CDC has not updated those figures.
“A crucial part of our response to COVID-19 is bolstering the healthcare workforce so we can respond to outbreaks as soon as possible,” said Ben Money, deputy secretary for health services.
The News & Observer is keeping a separate tally of coronavirus cases with data collected from the state and county health departments. As of Wednesday morning, that count was 12,884 cases in 99 counties and 485 deaths.
The updated totals come as Gov. Roy Cooper is preparing to bring the state into Phase 1 of its reopening strategy, which will allow more businesses to operate at half-capacity and permit outdoor gatherings up to 10 people with social distance. Phase 1 is set to begin Friday at 5 p.m.
Bill aims to let businesses reopen now
A bill introduced in the state Senate would give businesses a way to break Cooper’s orders and reopen now, while facing only a $25 civil fine and no potential criminal charges — instead of the up to $1,000 fine or criminal charges the law currently allows.
Called the “NC Freedom to Work Act,” the bill has the backing of some Senate conservatives and has been cheered by top organizers of the ReOpenNC protests, The News & Observer reported.
“It will basically enable businesses to open back up,” said Ashley Smith, a protest leader, in a video she posted Tuesday evening a few hours after the bill was filed.
Some Republican politicians have said Cooper’s phased opening will be too slow, including Senate leader Phil Berger, who released a written statement Tuesday calling Cooper’s Phase 1 “largely a continuation of the existing lockdown.”
There are 29 Republicans in the 50-person state Senate, and 15 of them have signed onto the bill either as sponsors or co-sponsors. No Democrats have.
The bill had not been voted on as of Wednesday afternoon, and it’s unclear if it would gain enough support to pass both the House and Senate. The most recent poll from the conservative-leaning Civitas Institute, in mid-April, found that 84% of North Carolinians approved of Cooper’s handling of coronavirus.
As reopening begins, businesses and institutions will assess their losses and determine how — and how much — they can recover.
State won’t name meat-processing plants with outbreaks
The N&O as of Wednesday has identified at least 13 outbreaks at meat-processing plants across the state, including Smithfield Foods in Bladen County, Mountaire Farms in Chatham County and a Butterball plant in Duplin County.
NC Health News reported that as of Tuesday morning, there were 899 confirmed cases in 20 outbreaks at plants in the state.
North Carolina DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen was asked three times in a press briefing Wednesday whether the state will release data about infected workers at meat-processing plants. The first two times she talked only about how the state was supporting workers at those plants in regard to the coronavirus. When a reporter followed up a third time and asked whether the state has data on those cases and if so why it won’t make it public, Cohen said only one state distributes that kind of information, The News & Observer reported.
“But I hear you. Everyone wants more and more information, so stay tuned for more information about that,” she said.
Losses in sales-tax revenues
Wake County has said it will likely lose millions of dollars in sales-tax revenues as a result of store closings and stay-home orders. At the same time, the county’s public school system now says it will need an additional $29.9 million from the county over last year’s budget.
The amount was included in the $1.8 billion operating budget proposal approved Tuesday by the Wake County school board for the 2020-21 school year. Board members knew the county would face a funding loss because of the pandemic, but said they had to make the request anyway on behalf of the system’s 162,000 students, The News & Observer reported.
“I ask that the public continue to trust and support us as we recognize that this will seem hard and heavy at a time that everyone in our community is being hit in tremendous ways and everyone is experiencing some form of overwhelming exhaustion,” said school board member Monika Johnson-Hostler.
School leaders say the additional county funds are needed to cover state requirements, including more money for charter school students and employee benefits; and for items that are essential for student success. The additional money would bring the county’s share of the schools’ budget to $545.9 million. The school system gets the majority of its money from the state.
In 29 rural counties across the state this week, students will get improved access to Wi-Fi with the arrival of 156 school bus hotspots, The News & Observer reported. AT&T, Google and Duke Energy Foundation eventually will provide a total of 280 Wi-Fi hotspot devices that can be installed on school buses, to aid students and teachers now relying on remote learning.
The buses will park in areas where students can reach them and use the Wi-Fi service to download and submit assignments and connect with teachers. Other people will be allowed to use them to connect to healthcare providers, apply for unemployment benefits and perform other tasks.
Exploring summer camp and travel options
Communities along the N.C. Outer Banks said Wednesday that visitors, banned during the pandemic, will be allowed in beginning at 12:01 a.m. on May 16, The News & Observer reported. The change includes the towns of Duck, Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and Manteo, along with Hatteras, Roanoke and Ocracoke Islands and the Currituck County portion of the Outer Banks.
Beachfront counties and towns imposed short-term rental bans during the pandemic to try to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and to limit the strain on local healthcare resources. Citing low and stable case numbers, some communities began lifting the bans April 30.
Most of North Carolina’s 41 state parks will reopen on a limited basis Saturday with the last, Gorges State Park, reopening May 13.
Hiking and biking trails, boat ramps and restrooms in the parks will be open, but campgrounds, visitor centers and picnic shelters will remain closed.
Under the governor’s plan, summer day camps may open as long as they follow U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines and N.C. DHHS rules, The News & Observer reported. Operators of overnight camps scheduled for this summer are still trying to determine whether they will be able to open.
Cooper’s executive order says day camps and programs for children and teenagers must provide social distancing; no close-contact sports will be permitted and all activities must allow campers to stay at least six feet apart.
According to the order, day camps may permit swimming if the local health department allows the pool to be used only by day-campers, and not the general public.
Staff writers Bailey Aldridge, Jonathan Alexander, Will Doran, T. Keung Hui, Jonas Pope IV and Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan contributed to this report, along with Joe Marusak and Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 11:23 AM with the headline "NC coronavirus cases rise as more tests are administered. Reopening plan starts Friday.."