Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Aug. 6
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 131,000
At least 131,267 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 2,092 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Thursday reported an additional 1,979 cases of COVID-19, up from 1,127 reported the day before.
The health department also reported 42 additional deaths Thursday — among the highest increase since the start of the pandemic.
The state reached a grim milestone this week — surpassing 2,000 coronavirus-related deaths.
“Every single one of them represents a family in mourning and a community grieving their loss,” N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday. “They are more than numbers on a chart – they are North Carolinians who are missed dearly.”
More than 31,000 new coronavirus tests were reported complete on Thursday.
A total of 1.9 million tests have been completed in North Carolina. As of Thursday, 9% of tests were positive. A positive rate of less than 5% for two weeks is an indication the spread of the virus is under control.
Hospitalizations decrease
At least 1,147 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 in North Carolina on Thursday, down from 1,167 reported Wednesday.
Daily reported hospitalizations have been lower this week after reaching a record high of 1,236 last week.
July 7 was the last time reported hospitalizations fell below 1,000. Data on hospitalizations are preliminary and can be updated.
Funding for schools
The N.C. State Board of Education on Thursday passed a motion requesting legislation to prevent school districts from losing funding if enrollment drops.
Funding is tied to a school’s enrollment, but it’s unclear this year how many students will return to school during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Among the many things that COVID-19 has revealed is the tenuous financial position that many of our districts face,” state board chairman Eric Davis said Thursday, according to The News & Observer. “It’s important in these uncertain times that we ensure adequate funding for our public schools.”
The majority of public school districts and dozens of charter schools in North Carolina will start the fall semester with remote learning only.
No high schools sports for CMS
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools isn’t planning to allow participation in high school sports this fall.
The district will operate with remote learning only in the upcoming semester and said in a questionnaire returned to N.C. High School Athletic Association on Thursday that student-athletes will not be allowed to play sports while partaking in remote learning.
“For clarity, in Plan C (remote learning), our response of NO is relative to student-athletes participating in games and competitions that involve other schools. Once the school year opens (academics) we will at some point permit student-athletes to practice on our campuses,” an addendum obtained by the Charlotte Observer reads.
The N.C. High School Athletic Association recently sent a survey to school officials in the state about reopening plans and plans for sports. The results have not been released.
The NCHSAA’s goal was to start fall sports practice Sept. 1, but Gov. Roy Cooper on Wednesday extended Phase Two of the state’s reopening plan past that date.
“We do not have anything to share at this point,” NCHSAA commissioner Que Tucker said Wednesday ofCooper’s decision. “We will be providing an update to the membership very soon.”
Mask ambassadors in Charlotte
Mask ambassadors who are bilingual and from diverse communities in the Charlotte area will soon be visiting businesses to ensure people are following health guidelines during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Health inspectors will also help with enforcing compliance, Mecklenburg County Manager Dena Diorio told county commissioners Wednesday night.
Face masks have been required in public in North Carolina since late June but enforcement has largely fallen on business owners and police cannot enforce Cooper’s executive order on individuals.
Mecklenburg County has the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the state, followed by Wake County. Improvements and stable trends are starting to emerge in Mecklenburg, The Charlotte Observer reported Thursday. Meanwhile, Wake County’s death toll surpassed 150 this week, health officials said Thursday.
Phase Two extended again
Gov. Cooper on Wednesday extended Phase Two of North Carolina’s reopening plan through at least Sept. 11.
The state has been in Phase Two since May 22. This is the third time Cooper has extended the phase — which was set to expire Friday afternoon — after doing so in June and again in mid-July.
Under Phase Two, restaurant dining rooms and personal care services were allowed to reopen with capacity limits. Bars, gyms, movie theaters and other businesses have been ordered closed since March. Gatherings remain limited to 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors.
Cooper said health officials need the extension to examine trends as schools open over the next few weeks.
The metrics officials monitor to analyze the spread of the virus show stabilization, but the number of cases is still too high, Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state health department, said.
“We know what works, we’re going to continue to stick with it,” Cohen told reporters Wednesday. “I know it takes a lot of vigilance.”
The Democratic governor has been criticized by some Republicans in the state legislature who say North Carolina has been reopening too slowly. He’s previously vetoed bills that would have allowed bars, gyms, bowling alleys, amusement parks and other venues to reopen.
Train services resume
The Piedmont rail service between Raleigh and Charlotte will resume Monday.
Demand for rail travel in North Carolina plummeted by mid-April due to the coronavirus pandemic. But it has since picked back up, Katie Trout, spokeswoman for the N.C Department of Transportation’s rail division, told The News & Observer.
The Piedmont train made three daily trips between Raleigh and Charlotte prior to the pandemic. Two trips were suspended in late March and the third stopped in May. The Carolinian — which runs between Charlotte, the Triangle and the Northeast — returned in May after pausing for more than a month.
This will be the first time since early April the two trains have run between Raleigh and Charlotte at the same time.
Starting Monday, the Piedmont will leave Raleigh at 6:30 a.m. and arrive in Charlotte at 9:40 a.m. It stops in Cary, Durham, Burlington, Greensboro, High Point, Salisbury and Kannapolis. The return train will leave Charlotte at 3:15 p.m. and arrive in Raleigh at 6:26 p.m.
Health director wants UNC to delay start
A health official is asking the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to postpone in-person instruction for at least five weeks.
Quintana Stewart, Orange County health director, told UNC Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz she would prefer the school consider virtual learning for the whole fall semester.
With in-person and online classes set to start Monday, thousands of UNC-Chapel Hill students are coming back to campus this week.
Students may have to return to school for tests
North Carolina public school students who are learning online during the pandemic could have to return to school for standardized tests.
Schools in the state haven’t received waivers for standardized tests, and education leaders have recommended administering them whenever students return to campus or allowing districts to bring students in for the exams. They’ve also proposed letting districts use unused spring state exams for students at the beginning of the year.
Most public school students in North Carolina will be learning virtually in the upcoming semester.
State to buy new COVID-19 tests
North Carolina plans to buy thousands of COVID-19 tests designed to give results in 15 minutes.
The state is among at least seven that have made an agreement to buy the rapid antigen tests. North Carolina is expected to purchase 500,000 of them. While the tests aren’t as sensitive as those done in labs, patients can have quicker results at a cheaper cost.
“Testing is key to slowing the spread of COVID-19, and I’m proud to work with other governors on this plan to help expand testing in North Carolina,” Gov. Cooper said in a statement.
This story was originally published August 6, 2020 at 7:06 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Aug. 6."
