Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 11
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We’re keeping track of the most up-to-date news about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Reported cases and deaths
At least 15,273 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 575 have died as of Monday afternoon, according to state and county health departments.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 281 new cases of the virus on Monday, a drop from 404 reported the day before.
At least 464 North Carolinians were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday, up from the 442 reported Sunday.
The state was averaging 501 daily hospitalizations over the last seven days as of Monday.
Only one of North Carolina’s 100 counties has not reported a case of the virus. At least one death has been reported in 72 counties.
Increase in testing
Monday’s decline in new coronavirus cases came after daily counts went up by more than 400 each day since May 5.
But an increase in cases was to be expected, health officials have said, as North Carolina has ramped up its testing.
On Sunday, health officials collected results for 5,773 completed tests. The state had been meeting its goal of completing between 5,000 and 7,000 tests per day, The News & Observer reported.
The state reported about 3,700 new tests on Monday.
Overall, North Carolina had completed 195,865 tests as of Monday morning, 8% of which have come back positive.
Thousands recovered
Health officials estimated Monday that more than 9,000 people in the state have recovered from COVID-19.
As of Monday, the number of recovered patients will be included in the N.C. Department of Health and Human Service’s data reports, Mandy Cohen, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said during a news conference, according to The News & Observer.
Monday’s data show about 9,115 are “presumed recovered.”
Increased election costs
North Carolina isn’t ready yet for the increased election costs the coronavirus pandemic will bring, The News & Observer reports.
Karen Brinson Bell, executive director of the N.C. Board of Elections, has requested from the N.C. legislature changes to state voting laws and about $2 million in funding to match the federal funds available to the state.
She said the $11 million from the federal government will be needed for equipment to make in-person voting safe and for an expected big increase in absentee-by-mail voting.
But lawmakers haven’t addressed the requests yet.
“We hope that they will address this in a timely fashion,” Brinson Bell said, according to The N&O. “By June 15, we’re going to be in a very tight spot to be able to have the supplies and the materials.”
Triage tents taken down
WakeMed on Monday took down its coronavirus triage tents that it set up outside of its three emergency departments in late March.
But officials say the outbreak isn’t over even though the hospital system doesn’t need the tents anymore.
“It gave us the opportunity over the last six or eight weeks to really get all our emergency departments set up to where essentially we have the same ability to separate folks with COVID-like symptoms and those without within our walls,” Dr. Doug Trocinski, medical director for the emergency department at WakeMed’s Raleigh campus told The News & Observer. “Which is obviously much better for everybody.”
Other hospital systems in the state, including UNC Health, will keep them up for now.
Antibody tests
An organization with a presence in North Carolina is offering testing for COVID-19 antibodies.
Starting Monday, The Blood Connection is giving donors the chance to test for signs of previous coronavirus infections.
The organization said blood donations have been on the rise after a decline in March. At the time, blood drives were canceled due to concerns about the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported.
Fewer robo calls
Charlotte and Raleigh saw a 33% drop in robo calls during April, according to a YouMail website called robocallindex.com.
The decline comes as COVID-19 shut down call centers, which are likely going to reopen, The Charlotte Observer reported. Across the country, the spam calls were down 30%, data show.
Busy weekend for state parks
Some North Carolina state parks were busy over the weekend after reopening.
Twenty-eight of the parks reopened on Saturday after being closed for weeks following the start of Phase One of North Carolina’s reopening plan.
At least one, South Mountains State Park in Burke County, had to close its gates after meeting its capacity, The News & Observer reports.
Raven Rock State Park, which is southeast of Raleigh, had a line of 40 to 50 cars at one point.
This story was originally published May 11, 2020 at 7:22 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 11."
