Mecklenburg County reports second coronavirus death as cases rise to 465

Mecklenburg County reported its second coronavirus death Wednesday as cases edged up to 465, an increase of 47 cases from Tuesday. Local health officials did not release the person’s name, age or other details.

Nearly half of the patients hospitalized in North Carolina with coronavirus or COVID-19 are in the Charlotte area, the state Department of Health and Human Services reported.

Statewide cases totaled more than 1,500 and more than 26,000 tests have been administered. State and county officials say there have been 12 other deaths in North Carolina.

A 43-year-old Montgomery County sheriff’s deputy and school resource officer who was known for his big smile and dedication to children became one of the state’s casualties Tuesday night. Montgomery County is about 50 miles east of Charlotte.

Sypraseuth “Bud” Phouangphrachanh, a 14-year veteran of the sheriff’s department, had sought outpatient care after suffering allergy symptoms. He was later tested for COVID-19, the respiratory disease the new coronavirus causes, and was admitted to a hospital on Monday, the department said.

“‘Deputy Bud’ is survived by his wife, five children, brothers, an extended family as well as a family of co-workers, especially his brothers and sisters who wear a badge, stand tall, but never too tall to bend down and whisper a comforting word to a kid, as he did so well,” Montgomery Sheriff Chris Watkins said in a statement.

At 43, Phouangphrachanh became one of the youngest victims yet to die from the virus in North Carolina, according to data released Wednesday by the state’s Department of Health and Human Services.

A 60-year-old woman also died of complications from coronavirus in Wilkes County on Tuesday night, the health department there said.

Of the first 10 deaths, nine were men but only one was 49 or younger, the state data shows. Six were 65 or older. Positive tests for COVID-19 have been evenly split however between males and female.

North Carolina has 204 patients hospitalized due to coronavirus, as of Wednesday, with 81 of them in Mecklenburg County and surrounding counties, according to the data.

Coronavirus in NC prison

The state Department of Public Safety announced new steps Wednesday to prevent a coronavirus outbreak in prisons after a staff member in eastern North Carolina tested positive for COVID-19.

Across the state, 148 of 16,000 prison employees have been put on leave due to possible symptoms or exposure to COVID-19, the Observer reported Wednesday.

The virus is spreading quickly in America’s jails and prisons, where social distancing is impossible and sanitizer is widely banned, prompting the release of thousands of inmates, the New York Times has reported.

Prison officials have begun taking the temperatures of employees as they report for work, North Carolina DPS said. Staffers will be asked screening questions and denied entry if they have respiratory symptoms or who have been exposed in the previous 14 days to anyone suspected or diagnosed with COVID-19.

New inmates brought into state prisons from county jails will be isolated for 14 days, the department said.

Personal protective gear in short supply

North Carolina, like many other states, continues to lag far behind its need for personal protective gear for healthcare providers from federal stockpiles, state officials say.

This week the state is getting its third shipment from the Strategic National Stockpile, which supports public health threats, emergency management director Mike Sprayberry told reporters. The state has requested 500,000 each of N95 masks, procedure masks, gowns, gloves, face shields and coveralls.

The first two shipments from the stockpile netted small fractions of most of those items, including 38% of the requested N95 masks, 14% of gowns and 16% of face shields. The numbers will be updated when the third shipment is inventoried.

“Our logistics and sourcing teams continue to find and buy additional personal protective equipment,” Sprayberry said. “Our orders so far are close to $100 million, but we have received very little of that.”

The state is recruiting retired doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who would be assigned to hospitals to meet a surge of coronavirus patients or to fill in for sick workers. Nearly 1,900 volunteers have registered online and more than 700 have been vetted and are ready to work, Sprayberry said.

Tensions high among banks

Tensions are running high at bank call centers like Wells Fargo’s Customer Information Center in University City, where two employees have tested positive for COVID-19.

The centers are being swarmed with thousands of requests to delay mortgage payments, waive fees and help customers navigate the financial crisis that has accompanied the virus outbreak.

Banks are extending hazard pay to branch bankers such as tellers who have to interact with people regularly and call center works. They’ve closed some branches, increased cleaning protocols and tried to enforce social distancing.

In Gaston County, the 110-acre Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden was a breath of fresh air for the house-bound in the Charlotte area. But the garden has closed its gates for nearly two weeks, after attempting social distancing, and now has laid off 42 of its 51 staff members.

Executive Director Patrick Larkin expects the garden to lose more than $500,000 in income if it has to stay closed through May.

“Right now, the entrance to the visitor pavilion is phenomenal, filled with pansies and snapdragons and hyacinths. Out on the Four Seasons lawn, the tulip bulb display is amazing,” Larkin said.

“It’s almost criminal that nobody is able to get out there and see it.”

Public and private efforts to help

Gov. Roy Cooper on Tuesday ordered utilities not to shut off electric, gas, water and wastewater service to customers who are late in paying their bills. Cooper urged, but didn’t require, landlords to delay eviction proceedings.

Charlotte’s Unknown Brewing Co. plans to branch into small-batch gins, rums and other spirits, but for now it’s making hand sanitizer. The brewery and distillery released the first bottles of Good Hands hand sanitizer on Friday and has also donated hand sanitizer to area hospitals.

Two Mecklenburg County suspects, meanwhile, are believed to be the first charged in York County, S.C., with looting during a state of emergency. Ronald Nicholas Miller, 26, of Matthews, and Justin Andrew Osczepinski, 30, of Charlotte were charged outside a Lake Wylie storage warehouse.

This story was originally published April 1, 2020 at 11:57 AM.