Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Nov. 25
We’re tracking the most up-to-date information about the coronavirus in North Carolina. Check back for updates.
Hospitalizations keep setting records
At least 346,506 people in North Carolina have tested positive for the coronavirus and 5,138 have died, according to health officials.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported 4,212 new COVID-19 cases — the third highest number of new daily cases since the start of the pandemic. There were 3,100 new cases on Tuesday.
Sixty-four deaths were reported Wednesday, the second-highest daily number of fatalities from the disease.
At least 1,811 people were reported hospitalized with COVID-19 as of Wednesday, setting another record as the state heads into the Thanksgiving holiday.
About 7.3% of tests were reported positive on Monday, the latest day for which data are available. That’s above the 5% target set by health officials.
Prisons shut down over COVID-19 outbreaks
At least three North Carolina state prisons have closed as case numbers continue to climb, forcing hundreds of inmates to be relocated elsewhere in the state.
The closures have affected Randolph Correctional Center in Randolph County, the minimum custody unit at Southern Correctional Institution in Montgomery County and the minimum custody unit at Piedmont Correctional Institution in Rowan County
Prison leaders attributed the moves in a briefing Wednesday to a spike in coronavirus case numbers among inmates and a large number of staff out of work at some of the facilities.
North Carolina has also maxed out its hospital bed capacity for inmates, according to the briefing.
Carolina Theatre lays off staff
The Carolina Theatre of Durham is closing from January until June and laid off roughly 90% of its staff, interim CEO and President Bethann James announced Wednesday.
The temporary shutdown is intended to save money during the coronaviurs pandemic, The News & Observer reported.
“It’s just a sad time, you know, but we have made every effort to continue to earn revenue,” James said. “The Carolina Theatre finds itself in a precarious situation because we are both a cinema, and we’re also an events venue.”
The theater has been closed to the public since March.
Businesses wary of enforcing tougher mask rules
Some local businesses in Charlotte are concerned about enforcing Gov. Roy Cooper’s stricter mask ordinance, which goes into effect at 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Under Cooper’s executive order, people must wear a mask at restaurants unless they are actively eating and drinking — along with in schools and at gyms. Retailers with more than 15,000 square feet of interior space must also designate an employee at each entrance to enforce face-covering compliance.
Businesses who don’t follow the order may face up to $1,000 in fines.
Restaurant owner Paul Manley told The Charlotte Observer it’s added pressure for his employees.
“We’re pretty uncomfortable making staff and management determine if someone is actively eating and drinking, or finished eating,” he said.
Wake tourism could lose $145 million because of pandemic
Businesses in Wake County are projected to lose $145 million this year after the coronavirus pandemic canceled meetings, conventions and sporting events, according to a report by Visit Raleigh, which promotes tourism in the region.
The millions of people who visit Raleigh every year typically spend more than $2.9 billion — which generates more than $284 million in sales tax revenue, The News & Observer reported.
But canceled events alone have cost the area almost 370,000 visitors.
Jessica Holt, Visit Raleigh’s public relations manager, told The N&O that’s just the impact of canceled events, and the pandemic’s total monetary impact is likely much larger.
Restaurant owners say they need support for service workers.
“When we don’t support the businesses that hire them, it just becomes bad for the entire community, and that’s what we’re seeing now,” said Greg Hatem, part owner of The Pit and The Raleigh Times.
Businesses owned by people of color have struggled more. Citing a report by the Greater Durham Black Chamber of Commerce, The N&O previously reported roughly 25% of Black-owned businesses in the area permanently shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The average minority business owner doesn’t come in with substantial amounts of funds, like from banks or private investors,” Hisine McNeill, who is Black and owned Alpha Dawgs in Raleigh, told The N&O. “Most minority business owners start with money that they saved up.”
Private schools report more COVID-19 clusters
Private schools in North Carolina have reported 175 confirmed COVID-19 cases among students and staff, according to a report released Tuesday by the state health department.
Private schools also account for 14 of North Carolina’s 26 active K-12 clusters, The News & Observer reported.
The data comes as Gov. Roy Cooper on Monday opted to make wearing a face covering mandatory in private schools and other establishments. Previously, private schools were exempt from the face mask rule.
North Carolina releases a COVID-19 cluster report for schools twice a week. The state defines a cluster as five or more confirmed cases within a 14-day period that can be plausibly linked.
Stay-at-home order unlikely in Charlotte
Mecklenburg County commissioners’ Chairman George Dunlap has said he doesn’t anticipate another stay-at-home order despite rising COVID-19 case numbers in the region.
“Knowing what I know right now, I would not” sign a new order, Dunlap told The Charlotte Observer on Tuesday.
His statements come just two days after Mecklenburg County reported its highest number of cases in a single day since the start of the pandemic. The county reported 534 cases on Sunday — higher than the counts seen when cases climbed in July, the Observer reported.
Also this week, Mecklenburg County neared all-time daily hospitalization records set in the summer. About 200 patients needed “acute-level care” at the time, with levels now standing at 180.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is preparing to bring more students back to school for in-person instruction.
At least 30 students and at least 60 employees in the district have tested positive for the coronavirus in the past week, chief school performance officer Kathy Elling told the Observer.
“We are monitoring our statistics closely in conversation with the health department,” Elling said. “We would strongly urge everyone in the community to follow the protocols in place, which are wear a face covering, wash your hands and stay social distanced.”
Vaccines not enough to stop coronavirus, UNC expert says
The three new COVID-19 vaccine candidates showing promise in clinical trials won’t be enough to end the pandemic, an infectious disease specialist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill said.
“A vaccine will not completely get us out of it. It really won’t,” Dr. David Wohl told The News & Observer. “There’ll still be people getting sick. There’ll still be people dying. We still need good treatments, and that’s why I think the treatment work has to continue as well.”
Wohl said the results of vaccine trials by Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca are hopeful. But there are still questions surrounding their safety and long-term effectiveness.
Even after they are approved for widespread distribution, he said, people who get the virus will still need treatments.
NC worker says he lost job after entering quarantine
A man in North Carolina says he was fired after telling his boss that hospital staff recommended he go into quarantine for COVID-19.
Now the former worker, Larry Bishop, has filed a lawsuit that accuses TRP Construction of violating federal laws meant to offer protection during the coronavirus pandemic.
Lew Glenn, an attorney for the Huntersville company, said in a court filing that the former construction worker’s claims “are barred by reason of his own fraudulent acts and misrepresentations.”
“The company is also challenging Bishop’s contention that during his time at TRP, he “met or exceeded” the company’s expectations,” The Charlotte Observer reported Tuesday.
During the pandemic, pandemic-related cases have made their way into the courts. Some employees have argued they were afraid of going to their jobs due to possible exposure to the virus, while others say they were out of work after reporting unsafe conditions.
Redlined NC areas at higher risk for COVID-19, data show
Residents in North Carolina neighborhoods that experienced redlining in the 20th century have higher coronavirus risks compared with people living in areas that didn’t have that type of racial discrimination, data show.
People in those parts of Durham that are now predominantly Black are more likely to have medical conditions that can make them seriously sick if they contract COVID-19, The News & Observer reported. While Black people make up 37% of Durham County residents, they constitute almost half of coronavirus-related deaths.
Redlining refers to the practice of refusing loans to people who live in less-desirable areas.
“Even though the practice of redlining ended 40, 50 years ago formally, over time what’s happened is there’s a ripple effect that happens over generations,” said Sterling Fulton, evaluation director for the Durham-based Center for Black Health & Equity. “In the United States, home-ownership is the largest asset that people are able to pull from to benefit from one generation to the next.”
To come up with the new findings, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition says it examined housing maps from the 1930s and data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
This story was originally published November 25, 2020 at 7:04 AM with the headline "Coronavirus live updates: Here’s what to know in North Carolina on Nov. 25."
