Rowan resident dies of coronavirus as NC is put under statewide stay-at-home order

As the new coronavirus spread and the death toll rose, Gov. Roy Cooper on Friday announced a statewide stay-at-home order that will restrict travel and public gatherings across North Carolina, saying “it’s what we have to do to save lives” from the new coronavirus. The latest life lost was in Rowan County.

“The Rowan County Health Department has confirmed that a patient who tested positive for COVID-19 has died,” local health officials said late Friday. “The patient was in the high risk category due to age and underlying medical conditions.”

It was the fifth death from the virus in North Carolina, which had 864 cases as of Friday.

The state order, which requires social distancing and limits gatherings to 10 or fewer people for 30 days, is similar to a measure that took effect in Mecklenburg County on Thursday. Essential services, such as grocery stores and pharmacies, won’t be affected.

The state order will be effective at 5 p.m. Monday. Violations will be misdemeanors.

If local orders such as Mecklenburg’s are more restrictive than the state version, the stronger restrictions will apply, Cooper said. Most local orders are much like the state’s, he added.

Cooper said the statewide directive is necessary to protect healthcare providers from being overwhelmed by a surge of coronavirus cases. The Centers for Disease Control, he added, has identified North Carolina among states with widespread infections that can’t be traced to a likely cause, such as recent travel.

He acknowledged that the order will add to the economic damage of his earlier orders that shut down bars, restaurants, barber shops and other businesses. About 200,000 workers have already filed for unemployment benefits under relaxed rules that Cooper ordered last week.

“We will not forget those who have lost their livelihoods in this crisis,” he said.

Mecklenburg cases reach 259

Mecklenburg County had 259 coronavirus cases as of Friday morning, the second day of a three-week “stay-at-home” order that could be extended. That total was up from 204 on Thursday.

Because testing has been limited to people most at risk from the virus, Mecklenburg Public Health Director Gibbie Harris told reporters, “We recognize the 259 cases are a smaller number than what we’re actually seeing.”

She urged people to be virtually screened before showing up for coronavirus testing, which will help prevent the unnecessary use of protective equipment for healthcare providers. People with mild symptoms should stay home and “assume they have it,” Harris said.

All ages and parts of the county are being affected by COVID-19, the disease the coronavirus causes, she said. More than half the cases reported in Mecklenburg County are from community spread, Harris said, which means the sources of infection are unknown.

“We are all susceptible to COVID-19,” she said. “We all need to be conscious of the fact that we have community spread. It is throughout our community.”

Nearly half the county’s cases so far have been in residents between 20 and 39 years old. About one in five patients has been hospitalized, and about one in 10 has been released from isolation after positive test results.

Health officials are working on models to try to predict when the outbreak will peak in the county, Harris said.

When will it be safe to work, mingle?

Tension over when Americans will be able to go back to work amid the pandemic continued Friday, with starkly different assessments by some Mecklenburg County officials and President Donald Trump.

Trump told Fox News on Thursday night that there is “no way” he will cancel the Republican National Convention scheduled to be held in Charlotte in August. The convention is expected to draw about 50,000 visitors to the city.

Trump has previously predicted that the economy can be “opened up” by Easter, April 12, four days before the Mecklenburg stay-at-home order is supposed to expire.

“Quite frankly we’re not really looking that far down the road,” County Manager Dena Diorio said Friday. “I’m sure there will be future conversations around the RNC, but not today.”

Local officials acknowledged Thursday that the Mecklenburg order could stretch much longer than the initial three weeks as coronavirus cases steeply increase in the region.

“I want to be optimistic, but — given what we’re seeing — my guess is it will be in effect longer than three weeks,” county commissioners’ Chair George Dunlap told the Observer. “Unless there’s some miracle that takes place, we haven’t seen the apex yet … and we’re still having difficulty with testing.”

Officials had debated options for the order that went into effect Thursday, including making it stay in effect for 60 days, Diorio said.

Deputy Chief Jeff Estes of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said about 1,200 complaints have been received so far about mass gatherings and the stay-at-home order. He added that CMPD, which enforces the order, has been “very pleased on what we’ve seen so far” with compliance.

“We need everyone to comply with the order, not to attempt to figure out what the loopholes are in the order,” Harris added.

Public health experts hope to avoid swamping Charlotte’s hospitals with coronavirus patients by limiting travel and gatherings. County residents are still allowed to venture outdoors during the stay-at-home order for “essential” activities, such as buying groceries, caring for friends and loved ones, and seeking medical treatment.

A Harvard University analysis shows that if 20% of people were hospitalized for COVID-19 in Charlotte over six months, the area would need about twice as many hospital beds than are currently available, according to ProPublica.

“Right now I’m comfortable at where (hospitals) are,” Harris said Friday. “The numbers I’m seeing every day tell me they’ve done the preparation that they can.”

Local hospitals haven’t made any requests yet to obtain more ventilators, Harris said. Ventilators are in short supply in New York, the nation’s epicenter of coronavirus infections.

As fewer residents visit public health clinics due to the outbreak, Diorio said the county would temporarily close its southeast location at 249 Billingsley Rd.

Starting Monday, only the northwest clinic location — at 2845 Beatties Ford Rd. — will offer services for family planning, sexually transmitted infections and HIV testing. Diorio has said the public health clinics aren’t equipped to do coronavirus testing.

“This will help us to continue to provide essential services to the community while also reallocating resources to the COVID-19 response efforts,” Harris said in a statement.

This story was originally published March 27, 2020 at 12:05 PM.