Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 18
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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 19,208 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 693 have died as of Monday afternoon, according to state and county health departments.
On Monday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services reported 511 new cases, down from the 530 reported Sunday.
The state has been averaging 568 daily cases over the last seven days as of Monday.
At least 511 North Carolinians were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Monday, up from 493 Sunday. The state’s seven-day rolling average number of hospitalizations was 497 as of Monday.
Cases in all 100 counties
All 100 of North Carolina’s counties now have at least one case of the coronavirus.
Avery County in western North Carolina was the only one without a known case until Monday, when its health department announced its first positive case.
“Avery County has been preparing for this reality and anticipated that our community would likely be impacted at some point,” the Facebook post said. “Public health staff have already initiated an investigation and have identified close contacts to contain the spread of disease.”
At least one death has been reported in 73 counties.
Testing goals exceeded
North Carolina surpassed 10,000 new COVID-19 tests Sunday for the second time in three days as the state continues to ramp up its testing, officials said.
The state’s goal is to test between 5,000 and 7,000 people for the virus each day.
On Monday, the state reported about 6,800 new tests, marking the sixth consecutive day in which the goal was met or surpassed.
Overall the state has completed 255,755 coronavirus tests, about 7.5% of which have come back positive.
About 2.4% of North Carolina’s population has been tested.
Cooper hopeful about Phase Two
Gov. Roy Cooper said during a news conference Monday that he plans to have a decision midweek on whether North Carolina can move into Phase Two of his reopening plan.
The governor said he remains hopeful the state will be able to do so by the end of the week.
Phase One has been underway since May 8, but Cooper’s executive order is set to expire Friday.
“We are hoping that we can move into Phase Two,” Cooper said during the conference. “We still need to look at a couple of more days of the data. We should be able to announce something by the middle of this week.”
The number of new daily cases continues to climb but other key trends, such as hospitalizations and the percentage of positive tests, have remained steady or are falling.
State budget shortfall possible
North Carolina lawmakers expect the state budget to fall short by billions of dollars due to falling tax revenues sparked by the coronavirus pandemic.
State senate leader Phil Berger, a Republican, said during a news conference Monday that losses could reach $4 billion— about 16% of North Carolina’s $25 million budget, The News & Observer reports.
The losses could potentially mean cuts across the government.
“Before COVID-19 hit North Carolina and our nation we were looking, here in North Carolina, at a significant budget surplus,” Berger said. “Now, our nonpartisan fiscal staff is estimating that we will have a multibillion dollar shortfall as far as our revenue is concerned.”
Testing in prisons
Experts say without more COVID-19 testing and other measures in state prisons, more people will die.
In early May, North Carolina officials outlined the steps they were taking to slow the spread of the coronavirus at state prisons in response to a judge order. The steps included providing inmates with masks, altering their sleeping arrangements and having inmates at manufacturing plants produce masks and disinfectant.
But experts say what’s not being done is the issue.
There have been no plans to release more inmates early or plans to test more for the virus. About 4% of inmates in North Carolina have been tested — well below the national average for state prisons, data from the COVID Prison Project shows.
Alison Jordan, a public health consultant with expertise in jails and prisons, told The News & Observer that without more testing, undetected cases are “inevitable.”
“The consequence is that more people will spread the disease,” Jordan said. “More people will get sick. And more people will die.”
Unemployment delays
State data shows a little more than half of the people who have filed for unemployment benefits in North Carolina have started receiving payments, The News & Observer reported Sunday.
Usually people shouldn’t wait longer than 14 days to start getting benefits unless there’s a complication, N.C. Division of Employment Security officials say.
Since March 15, when restrictions on applications were loosened, nearly 900,000 people in the state have filed and the state has paid out nearly $2 billion in benefits.
The unemployment system was inundated with claims and tripled its staff last month, but Gov. Roy Cooper says he is “pushing them to move faster.”
Some say the office is still understaffed and didn’t triple its staff soon enough.
Church services
Some North Carolina churches held services indoors for the first time in months on Sunday while others continued having services outdoors.
This comes after a federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked Gov. Roy Cooper’s restrictions on religious services amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Cooper’s office says it won’t appeal the ruling, meaning churches can choose to hold services of more than 10 people inside. However, religious leaders are urged to comply with restrictions.
This story was originally published May 18, 2020 at 7:32 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on May 18."
