NC coronavirus total increases by nearly 700 cases as state awaits decision on Phase Two

North Carolina’s coronavirus case total rose by roughly 700 cases Tuesday as the state waited for word on relaxed stay-home restrictions.

NC DHHS reported 19,700 confirmed cases of COVID-19, up 677 from Monday’s total. Fatalities jumped to 691 people statewide, climbing by 30 deaths.

The rise in recorded cases comes as the state considers scaling back stay-at-home restrictions, possibly entering Phase Two, which would end stay-at-home orders and allow restaurants to open with limited seating capacity.

This past Saturday, North Carolina recorded 853 new cases, its largest single-day jump.

Tuesday marked the first time in six weeks that ReopenNC protesters did not rally in downtown Raleigh calling for an end to Gov. Roy Cooper’s stay-at-home order.

Leader Ashley Smith said the group will instead call for businesses statewide to open on Friday in defiance of the order and hold its next march on Memorial Day.

“Everybody open at once on Friday,” she said in a video on the group’s Facebook page. “We’ve already heard them say they can’t arrest us all.”

A group called Hair is Essential is trying to raise money to hire a lawyer to challenge the restrictions that forced salons and barbershops to remain closed.

Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, said the virus spreads when people are in close contact for more than a few minutes, and that people can be infected and not know it.

“When you get your hair done, you’re right on top of someone,” she said at a news conference Tuesday.

Allowing salons to reopen is part of Phase Two, Cohen said, but there would still be restrictions.

The state has been meeting many of the metrics for reopening, including an increased level of coronavirus testing. On Tuesday, DHHS recorded nearly 10,000 new tests, higher than last week, which saw testing at roughly 6,000 a day.

Also, the state has not seen a big jump in hospitalizations: 585 on Tuesday, according to DHHS.

The state has cautioned that the increasing number of cases is partially due to increased testing, and that not all people with the virus have been tested. But the percentage of people testing positive for COVID-19 has hovered around 7%, down from a high of 17% in mid-April.

The News & Observer is keeping a separate count based on totals from DHHS and county health departments, which tends to be higher because the state updates its numbers once a day. As of Tuesday afternoon, that tally stood at 19,844 cases and 719 deaths.

Butner prison deaths

Eight inmates at Butner Federal Correctional Complex have died from COVID-19, The News & Observer reported. The deaths were at the medium-security prison.

Butner had one of the largest coronavirus outbreaks in the federal prison system. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reported 93 open cases among inmates, with 56 of those in medium security.

Entertainment venues talking about how to reopen

A group called the NC Live Coalition is considering ways to safely restart shows at theaters and other entertainment venues.

The coronavirus pandemic has caused months of cancellations of concerts, musicals, and other shows.

Coalition members include venues in Raleigh, Cary, Durham, Charlotte and Greensboro, according to a Tuesday news release.

Representatives from these venues are discussing measures such as cashless transactions, staggered audience entry and disinfection, according to the news release.

Coalition members are also considering how they can maintain social distancing at some performances, Kerry Painter, general manager and director of the Raleigh Convention and Performing Arts Complex, said in an interview.

The coalition members include Carolina Theatre of Durham, Durham Performing Arts Center and Durham Convention Center. The Durham Performing Arts Center has consistently been one of the country’s top theater-sized venues in attendance and sales, The News & Observer has reported.

Coastal Credit Music Park at Walnut Creek, Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, PNC Arena, and Red Hat Amphitheater in Raleigh, and the Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary are also part of the coalition.

Staff writer Chip Alexander contributed.

This story was originally published May 19, 2020 at 2:29 PM with the headline "NC coronavirus total increases by nearly 700 cases as state awaits decision on Phase Two."