Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Oct. 19
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We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Cases top 247,000
At least 247,172 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 3,939 have died, according to state health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Monday reported 1,144 new COVID-19 cases, down from 2,303 the day before.
Though the case count dropped, recent record-breaking daily totals have brought the seven-day average to 2,061. That’s a higher average than the state saw at this time last week, data show.
Five coronavirus-related deaths were reported Monday.
About 5.7% of tests were reported positive on Saturday, the latest date for which data is available. That’s slightly higher than the 5% target set by health officials.
At least 1,142 people in North Carolina were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Monday, up from 1,129 the day before.
Phase 3 of reopening is set to expire on Oct. 23, but Gov. Roy Cooper has not said whether he plans to extend the phase or if he will tighten rules to restrict the spread of the virus.
ECU announces more furloughs
The coronavirus pandemic sparked another round of temporary furloughs and salary reductions at East Carolina University projected to impact the entire athletics staff, including coaches, starting Nov. 1.
ECU Athletic Director Jon Gilbert said COVID-19 will likely cause a “sizable deficit,” adding the “uncertainty of the 2020 football season complicates the projections.”
“The manner in which we are operating is not sustainable,” Gilbert said. “We must find different ways to increase revenue and reduce our expenses.”
The furloughs and pay cuts are projected to last through June 30, 2021, The News & Observer reported.
The athletics department previously announced a round of furloughs in May in addition to cutting four sports, including men’s and women’s swimming and diving and men’s and women’s tennis. But Gilbert said those financial reductions “will not be enough” to overcome ECU’s deficit
Cases possibly tied to church event
Mecklenburg County health officials are investigating more than 23 confirmed COVID-19 cases stemming from a Charlotte church’s convocation two weekends ago.
United House of Prayer for All People on Beatties Ford Road first sounded the alarm Saturday, when just nine cases were reported. Everyone who attended the events should get tested for the coronavirus, health officials have said.
People can also find a testing site near them in Mecklenburg County at: https://meck.co/3ka8gLE.
Church officials could not be reached for comment by The Charlotte Observer.
Panthers have unconfirmed COVID-19 case
A team spokesperson for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers reported an unconfirmed case of COVID-19 on Monday.
All staff and players are working virtually and the team is operating in intensive protocol “out of an abundance of caution,” The Charlotte Observer reported. Coach Matt Rhule learned about the possible case just before 5 a.m.
“I told our staff, ‘Hey take this time with no distractions to take the time to watch (Sunday’s) game, watch the weeks before, find a way to improve in the areas where we haven’t played well,” Rhule said. “Provided that we’re back in there on Wednesday, I’m hoping there will be a time for some introspection.”
The Panthers played the Chicago Bears at home on Sunday and lost 23-16. Players were tested Monday morning and are off Tuesday, but they are allowed to get treatment.
Early voting at Bank of America Stadium has not been impacted by the prospective case.
Wake preps for return to in-person learning
Some Wake County schools will reopen next week for the first time since March with mandatory temperature checks for the hundreds of staff and students coming on campuses.
School board members say it’s going to require patience.
“We have to try to get back into the swing of things, and we feel like since March we’ve been prepared very, very well to welcome the children back in a safe, supporting and loving environment,” Muriel Summers, principal of Combs Elementary School in Raleigh, told reporters on Monday. “So we just ask our parents to understand that things may take time and to also give us the same grace that they have shown us since March.”
People coming to K-12 public school campuses will have to pass a series of health questions and have a body temperature below 100.4 degrees, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services requirements.
That means parents driving their students to school will have to wait in the carpool lane until the child passes the temperature checkpoint. Students coming off buses who fail will have to wait in an isolated room until their parents pick them up, The News & Observer reported.
PreK-3 students and K-12 special-education students will return for in-person instruction on Oct. 26, middle school students will return Nov. 9 and fourth- and firth- grade students will return Nov. 16.
All will be on a rotation plan of in-person and online courses to start.
Masks will also be required on campus, physical contact is barred and students will be encouraged to stay at their desks instead of moving around.
Private school principal tests positive for the coronavirus
Charlotte Catholic High School Principal Kurt Telford announced in a letter Oct. 15 he tested positive for COVID-19.
Telford traced the case to a member of his family, and he said he plans to self-isolate until Oct. 26, The Charlotte Observer reported. Some members of the administrative staff at Charlotte Catholic are working remotely while they quarantine as a result.
Charlotte Catholic previously reported four positive coronavirus cases, prompting the school to shift to a hybrid of online and in-person learning through Sept. 25. Classes returned to in-person instruction on Sept. 28.
Covenant Day School reported the first COVID-19 cluster at a K-12 school in Mecklenburg County on Sept. 25. The school currently lists three cases among employees and four among students.
A spokesperson for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools told the Observer they knew of 51 positive cases in the district since Aug. 2.
Coronavirus cancels popular NC festival
The Triangle-area N.C. Chinese Lantern Festival is canceled this year due to crowd limitations and concerns about the coronavirus.
The annual event featured a display of illuminated lanterns at Koka Booth Amphitheatre in Cary and more than 121,000 attendees in 2019. This year, some lanterns can be viewed “in downtown Cary through the holidays,” The News & Observer reported Monday.
“We know people look forward to this event, and with all the disappointment in 2020 we’re sad not to be able to bring the full lantern display to Cary,” said Taylor Traversari, general manager of Koka Booth. “With that being said, I want everyone to know we are already looking forward to a bigger and brighter event in 2021.”
The state is in Phase Three of lifting coronavirus-related restrictions, which calls for large outdoor sites to limit capacity to 7%.
“As much as we hate to do it, considering the current restrictions, we knew there was no way we could welcome the overwhelming crowds that attend each year,” Traversari said.
COVID-19 death linked to a state prison man didn’t enter
A man who contracted COVID-19 in a North Carolina jail and died before entering a state prison has sparked concerns about the way the case was reported.
Darrell Wayne Kersey, 59, was in the Durham County jail when he tested positive for the virus in August. He was taken to a hospital and transferred to state custody two days before his death, officials say.
The sheriff’s office didn’t report Kersey’s death to the public, and the case wasn’t tied to the Durham jail in N.C. Department of Health and Human Services documents. His death was instead listed under records of a prison he didn’t reach, The News & Observer reported Monday.
Some county officials “say they should have known about Kersey’s death and want more information about the reporting system,” the N&O reported. “A local heath expert said it’s important for jails to report cases that originate in their facilities.”
Harris to visit NC after people involved in campaign tested positive
U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, Democratic nominee for vice president, is set to visit North Carolina after postponing the trip due to positive coronavirus cases among people involved in her campaign.
Harris is set to visit Asheville and Charlotte on Wednesday, the same day Republican President Donald Trump is expected to hold a rally in Gastonia.
Harris appeared at a virtual Charlotte-area event last week after she canceled an in-person visit. She postponed the trip when Liz Allen, communications director for the senator, and a “non-staff flight crew member” tested positive for COVID-19, The Charlotte Observer reported.
The vice presidential nominee on Thursday told supporters she tested negative for the virus.
Biden visits NC, talks about coronavirus
Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden brought up COVID-19 when he gave a speech in Durham on Sunday.
Supporters were asked to stay in their cars to practice social distancing due to the pandemic. Vehicles in the Riverside High School parking lot were decorated with balloons, campaign signs and American flags while attendees watched the former vice president on big screens as his spoke on stage.
Biden noted the increase in coronavirus cases Thursday and Friday and criticized President Donald Trump for downplaying the danger of the virus.
“The president has known how bad this virus would be since January and he hid it from you,” he said. “His excuse is that he didn’t want Americans to panic. Americans don’t panic. Donald Trump panics.”
He also emphasized the importance of Medicaid expansion during the pandemic.
The Trump Victory campaign put out a statement calling Biden’s event a “last-minute” visit.
“With more than nine million direct voter contacts in North Carolina alone, Trump Victory’s permanent, data-driven ground game cannot be matched by Joe Biden’s anemic efforts in the Tar Heel State,” Trump Victory spokesman Gates McGavick said in the statement.
North Carolina is considered a key battleground state in the 2020 election, and Biden is leading Trump by a few percentage points.
Who will get vaccine first when it’s ready?
North Carolina has proposed that health care workers, EMTs, firefighters and other essential workers as well as residents and staff at long-term care facilities be in line to get the first doses of a COVID-19 vaccine when one is available to the public.
The state sent the proposal for vaccine distribution to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. States had until Friday to submit their proposals.
Those at high risk of severe illness and death from the coronavirus would also be among the first to get the shot.
“At the beginning, we need to understand that there is only going to be a limited supply of those vaccines, so we’re going to have to prioritize certain folks who will be able to get access to that vaccine at first,” Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state health department, said at a news conference Thursday.
The goal is to eventually vaccinate everyone in North Carolina who is eligible and who wants a shot.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 7:02 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Oct. 19."
