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10:50
The Carolina Hurricanes rescheduled another game due to COVID-19.
The Hurricanes’ home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, originally scheduled for Tuesday, will now be played on February 22. Last week, Carolina postponed games against Nashville and Florida due to COVID-19 security measures.
10:30 am
UNC Health will receive 10,000 doses of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine this week, with that number being less than half what was expected.
The UNC health system said it would not cancel or postpone any consultation based on the news. The lower allocation meant that fewer appointments were scheduled.
“We understand the frustration and disappointment that we are unable to make an appointment for vaccination more quickly,” said Dr. Ian Buchanan, UNC’s outpatient and post-acute health president. “This is really a question of supply and demand. We are very aware of the distress this is causing everyone who is now qualified to receive a vaccine and cannot get an appointment or spend hours online trying to get it ”.
UNC Health asks patients to call the state’s COVID-19 at 1-877-490-6642 or search online to find a vaccination location. UNC has applied more than 75,000 vaccines since the vaccination program started in December.
10:20 am
Wake County has declared an outbreak of COVID-19 in a retirement home for the elderly in Cary, the second in the facility since September.
Brookdale MacArthur Park, on MacArthur Drive, had its second pandemic outbreak. An outbreak is defined as a situation in which two or more people – residents or employees – have tested positive. No other information about residents or employees was released.
10:15 am
The state launched a COVID-19 community readiness toolkit to help people with disabilities and mental health problems. The toolkit contains resources for parents to help their children through remote learning as well as family-based needs.
The toolkit can be found here.
“These are stressful and unprecedented times, and we know that families and individuals are facing new and existing mental health challenges,” said Victor Armstrong, Director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, Substance Abuse Services. “We want to provide North Carolina residents with this toolkit to give them all the support they need to face these difficult times and stay healthy physically and mentally.”
MONDAY MORNING STORIES
Three new COVID-19 test centers will open in Wake County on Monday.
Jaycee Park and Sertoma Arts Center in Raleigh, along with Lake Benson Park in Garner, will be open for testing. All places are accessible by public transport and start at 11am. You do not need an appointment, insurance or identity to get tested.
For a complete and up-to-date list of Wake County test locations (including opening hours), click here.
Sunday marked the fourth consecutive day of more than 100 COVID-19-related deaths in North Carolina. Over the weekend, the U.S. surpassed 25 million cases, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.
In Chatham County, more than 400 people (health workers and people over 65) are due to be vaccinated at the Chatham County Agricultural and Conference Center on Monday.
President Joe Biden must reinstate COVID-19 travel restrictions for non-US citizens who have been to Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and much of Europe
DOMAIN
6 PM
The gloomy figures released over the weekend are a cause for concern: 100 deaths of COVID-19 over four consecutive days. Wake County health officials recommend testing for anyone who sees signs of possible exposure.
“So if you have a fever, you develop fever, nausea, vomiting, headache and lose your sense of smell or taste. Those are typical signs of someone who may be symptomatic of COVID,” said Wake County Health testing clear Eugene Chalwe. “The county’s goal is to maintain six test locations per week. So we are maintaining our three static locations, in Swinburne, Wake Forest, Departure Drive, and still doing three revolving locations in each park.”
Wake County Health is working with Raleigh and Garner to make these sites available on Monday: Jaycee Park and Sertoma Arts Center in Raleigh along with Lake Benson Park in Garner. They are located in areas accessible by public transport.
“Because their positivity rates are still very high across the county,” said Chalwe. “So we want people to respond to that access they have and know that the focus is on the vaccine. They still need to be tested if exposed. We only know what their status is if you test it. So, if you don’t test it, and you’ve been in close contact and been contacted by the case evaluators, you need to test. “
The tests are free and you do not need insurance or identity to take the test. Check here for the latest location of the test sites.
12:15 pm
North Carolina is reporting 6,096 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total to 718,812 across the state.
Throughout the state, there are 3,303 people hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s 113 below Saturday.
In North Carolina, 109 more people died of COVID-19. This brings the total to 8,695. This is the fourth consecutive day that more than 100 people died of the virus in North Carolina.
The state’s daily positive percentage test rate is 10.5%. That is down from 10.9% on Saturday.
11:04 am
According to Johns Hopkins University, there were 25,003,695 COVID-19 in the United States.
COVID in the USA: 40% of Americans live in areas that are left without ICU space
SATURDAY
11:20 am
North Carolina reported 7,181 more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 712,716.
With 96 percent of hospital reports, there are 3,416 people hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s 96. This is the fifth consecutive day that hospitalizations have declined.
There were 122 more deaths from COVID-19, totaling 8,586 across the state.
The state is reporting a daily positive test rate of 10.9%, slightly above Friday’s 10.1%.
10:30 am
Lee County officials reported four more deaths from COVID-19. This brings the total number of deaths in the county to 50.
10h08
NCDHHS reported the first identification of variant B.1.1.7 of COVID-19 in a North Carolina resident on Saturday morning. The variant was first detected in the UK in December.
Variant B.1.1.7 was found in a sample from an adult in Mecklenburg County processed by Mako Medical Laboratories.
In the United States, 195 cases of B.1.1.7 were reported in 21 states on January 22, 2021. Initial data suggest that this variant may be more contagious than others.
Current COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be effective against the new variant, officials said.
“While it is expected, the identification of this COVID-19 variant in North Carolina is worrying, especially as we are already seeing a very high number of cases,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD. “It is more important than ever to practice 3Ws.”
Healthcare leaders are not surprised by the tension here, but they are very concerned about what might happen next.
“The evidence we have so far is that it is more infectious than the virus currently circulating,” said North Carolina epidemiologist Dr. Zack Moore. “This will really put pressure on us to really take extra care with our preventive measures.”
The forecast comes at a time when health systems across the state are stepping up vaccination efforts.
“It’s kind of a perfect storm. We just can’t take a break and stay ahead of it,” said Duke Human Vaccine Institute’s director of operations, Dr. Tom Denny. “Our rate of vaccine administration across the country is still very slow and we are not likely to have it much higher by April, because if we have this variant, we will be able to avoid it because we vaccinate so many people.”
Denny says there is some data showing that the current vaccine provides coverage, for the most part, against the variant.
7:15
According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 24,822,604 cases of COVID-19 in the United States since March.
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