COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in North Carolina.
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SATURDAY
12 p.m.
North Carolina health officials are now reporting 429,776 total COVID-19 cases since March with 6,153 new cases reported. This is the fifth time in a week where cases have increased by more than 6,000 in a single day.
Throughout North Carolina, 44 more people have died from COVID-19. This brings the total to 5,796.
With 97 percent of hospitals reporting, a record 2,577 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19. That is up 63 from Friday.
NCDHHS said the percent positive test rate has risen to 11.7% from 10.4% on Friday.
US says Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to start arriving in states Monday
7:15 a.m.
According to data from Johns Hopkins University, there have been 15,851,735 COVID-19 cases in the United States.
FRIDAY
5 p.m.
Wake County is joining forces with the City of Raleigh and surrounding towns to add no-cost COVID testing in various community parks. Starting Monday, December 14, sections of the parking lots at these parks will host drive-thru testing for a week at a time at each location.
Locations for the week of Dec. 14-19:
Green Road Park
4201 Green Road, Raleigh, NC 27604
Barwell Road Park
5857 Barwell Park Drive, Raleigh, NC 27610
Lions Park
516 Dennis Avenue, Raleigh, NC 27604
At each location, testing will run Monday through Saturday. On Mondays, testing will begin at 11 a.m. and run through 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays, the public can drive up any time between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. You do not need insurance. No appointment is necessary, although certain locations may ask you to fill out an online registration.
3:30 p.m.
Not only is the Durham VA Medical Center one of 37 VA sites to receive initial doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, but it is also North Carolina’s only VA to receive doses.
On Friday, the Durham VA Health Care System announced that it was selected for its “ability to vaccinate large numbers of people and store the vaccines at extremely cold temperatures.”
The VA will begin vaccinating health care personnel and Veterans in long-term health care facilities as soon as the FDA issues an emergency use authorization of the vaccine.
“We are very excited to provide a vaccine that has the potential to help get COVID-19 under control when used alongside public health measures such as masking, physical distancing and frequent handwashing,” said Mr. Paul Crews, Durham VA Health Care System Executive Director.
3:15 p.m.
Healthy Start Academy and Central Park School for Children in Durham are two schools that were selected to pilot the K-12 antigen testing program in North Carolina.
The initiative was announced by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Department of Defense earlier this year.
Local health departments in counties with participating districts and schools will receive the test kits at no cost for diagnostic testing of symptomatic and close contact students, teachers, and staff.
Harnett County Schools, Johnston County Public Schools and Wilson County Schools were also selected for Phase 1.
11:45 a.m.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services on Friday reported a single-day increase of more than 7,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time.
7,540 new cases were reported on Friday.
2,514 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Hospitalizations have hit a new record every day this week.
303 new confirmed COVID-19 patients were admitted in the last 24 hours. 346 suspected patients were admitted in that same time frame.
In an emailed statement, Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen said the state is now seeing the impacts of Thanksgiving gatherings.
“Having more than 7,500 cases is staggering and alarming,” she said. “Do not wait until it is you or your loved one sick or alone in the hospital or you are facing the loss of a loved one to wear a mask, wait 6 feet apart, and wash your hands often. Act now. Please ask yourself what you can do to help slow the spread of this virus and save lives.”
40 percent of the new cases in North Carolina over the last week have been in people ages 25 to 49.
The percent positive is at 10.4 percent, well above the state’s goal of 5 percent.
11:15 a.m.
Gov. Roy Cooper continues to ask North Carolinians to hunker down and sacrifice as COVID-19 cases continue to spread at a concerning rate.
Gov. Cooper penned an op-ed that was sent to media outlets on Friday titled “Help is on the way. But first we have to dig deep.” Cooper said he believes in the vaccine process and has hope the distribution of a free vaccine can bring back some normalcy for the state’s business owners, consumers and citizens.
“I have confidence in this process and plan to roll up my sleeve when it’s my turn to get the vaccine,” his letter states. “But for now, we have to work together and tap into the resiliency that defines our state. Whether it’s helping our neighbors rebuild after a hurricane or coming together to support our loved ones who are most vulnerable to this virus, North Carolinians are best at looking out for each other when times are tough. That spirit is still in us, no matter how tired or frustrated we are. Dig deep and don’t let weariness win. Together we will beat this thing.”
8:45 a.m.
Dr. Cameron Wolfe of Duke University Hospital said he expects health care providers will start getting COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday.
Wolfe was speaking at the Durham Recovery and Renewal Taskforce meeting Friday morning. He was working off the assumption that the FDA gives emergency use authorization for the Pfizer vaccine Friday.
U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told GMA on Friday morning that the FDA had informed Pfizer that it intended to approve that emergency authorization use.
Wolfe said the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed to larger hospitals which have the special freezers needed to store the vaccine. The Moderna vaccine, if and when it is authorized, will go to more rural areas.
SEE ALSO: Ultra-cold freezers to store Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine arrive at two Duke hospitals
FRIDAY MORNING STORYLINES
North Carolina’s modified stay-at-home order goes into effect Friday night, with many bars, stores and restaurants having to close at 10 p.m. State leaders hope the new restrictions will help stop the worsening spread of COVID-19. Grocery stores, gas stations and pharmacies are some businesses that can remain open.
Alcohol cannot be sold after 9 p.m. as part of the curfew. The order is set to last until Jan. 8.
Thursday featured more than 5,000 newly-reported COVID-19 cases for the sixth time this month and 10.5% of tests came back positive. That rate was a decrease from Wednesday’s high of 11.7%, but still markedly higher than the state’s goal of 5% or lower.
A panel at the Food and Drug Administration endorsed the widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday. Advisers feel that the vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is safe and effective for emergency use in adults and teenagers 16 and older.
Durham Public Schools voted to let more high school sports begin practicing next week. Basketball, cheerleading, soccer, football and lacrosse can also start workouts. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association is requiring all athletes, whether competing indoors or outdoors, to wear masks.
THURSDAY
10:30 p.m.
Durham Public Schools Board of Education voted 4 to 3 in favor of resuming practice and conditioning for high school athletics.
Basketball, cheerleading, men’s soccer, men and women’s lacrosse, and football are all allowed to begin practice and workouts.
Those sports will not begin competition until next year, with basketball/cheerleading starting Jan. 4, soccer/lacrosse starting Jan 25, and football starting Feb. 26.
3 p.m.
A no-cost COVID-19 testing and food distribution event is being held Dec. 12 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Global Scholars Academy located at 311 Dowd St. in Durham. The event is being sponsored by Union Baptist Church and The Episcopal Church El Buen Pastor, both located in Durham. Registration for the event is preferred but not required. You can register online for the Global Scholars Academy Community Testing Event, or over the phone by calling 984-222-8000 and choosing option 2. For Spanish, call 984-664-4132. If you are prompted to leave a voicemail, please provide your name, date of birth and contact information and you will be automatically registered for the event.
12 p.m.
In a news conference, NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen and state pharmacist Amanda Fuller Moore explained in more detail how the state’s first allocations of the Pfizer vaccine will be distributed, should it receive emergency use authorization. Cohen said 53 North Carolina hospitals–decided based on number of beds, number of health care workers in direct contact with COVID-19 patients, and county population–will receive the first shipment of 89,800 vaccines. That includes 11 hospitals identified as having enough ultra cold storage to keep the Pfizer vaccine for a number of weeks, should the authorization process be delayed.
“These are going to be shipped in batches of at least 975 doses in a unit,” Cohen said. “So each location must be able to store this amount of vaccine in ultra-cold storage or keep the shipping container for up to 30 days and use those doses within 10-15 days without have to reuse the dry ice.”
Cohen and Moore said that while the state knows how many doses it will receive in the first week, it’s unclear at this time how many doses the federal government will allocate to North Carolina in the second and third weeks, when health officials hope to get doses to additional hospitals and long-term care facilities.
“We’re right on the precipice of this incredible tool that we’ve been waiting for for so long, but we’re learning as we go,” Cohen said.
And while we wait for the vaccine, Cohen reminded North Carolinians that the 3 W’s will continue to be necessary for the foreseeable future, especially as cases spike and the hospitals approach. While she said she couldn’t provide specifics about timing, she did say that people outside of health care workers and those living or working in congregate living settings shouldn’t expect to be vaccinated before spring 2021.
“We want as many people in North Carolina to get the vaccine as possible, but we know that’s going to take a while,” Cohen said.
11 a.m.
State Health Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen during a news conference about vaccine distribution on Thursday announced that North Carolina had 5,556 new COVID-19 cases in that last 24 hours — marking the 6th day of single-day cases over 5,000 this month. 10.5% of tests are positive, a decrease from yesterday’s high of 11.7% but still more than double the state’s goal of 5% or lower.
The state also saw a record number of hospitalizations with 2,444. Hospitalizations in the state have consistently been over 2,000 since Nov. 30.
53 more deaths were reported Thursday, bringing the total in the state to 5,714 since the start of the pandemic.
THURSDAY MORNING STORYLINES
The FDA is meeting to potentially authorize a Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine at 9 a.m. on Thursday in what could be a milestone in the race for a vaccine.
The experts may recommend some restrictions for the emergency authorization, including leaving children off the list for now. If given the go-ahead, the first deliveries of the vaccine would include 2.9 million doses. The U.S. Secretary of Health expects 20 million Americans to get vaccinated in the coming weeks.
Health organizations in the United Kingdom and Canada have already authorized the use of the vaccine in those countries.
At the meeting, a committee of independent vaccine experts will share their take on how to move forward. Pfizer is then scheduled to give a presentation at 1 p.m. A vote will follow in the afternoon for emergency authorization use.
Freezers needed to store Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine arrived at two of Duke’s hospitals Wednesday. On Thursday morning, Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen will give details about the distribution of the vaccine in North Carolina.
Cornerstone Tavern in Raleigh is closing for the winter due in part to the recent Executive Order passed that prohibits alcohol sales after 9 p.m. Alchemy on Glenwood South in Raleigh is also closing and will reopen on March 1.
More than 3,000 people died from COVID-19 on Wednesday, the deadliest day so far of the pandemic.
WEDNESDAY
5:27 p.m.
Wake County Public Health has confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 at Raleigh Rehabilitation Center, 616 Wade Ave.
It’s the second outbreak confirmed at the center. The first happened in July.
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services defines an outbreak as two or more people – residents or employees – testing positive for the virus.
Under NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen’s Order No. 3, certain facilities that experience new outbreaks must fall back to previous restrictions and not allow visitors for 28 days. That includes nursing homes, assisted living facilities, adult care homes, behavioral health and intellectual/developmental disability services, intermediate care facilities and psychiatric residential treatment facilities.
5:25 p.m.
With a COVID-19 vaccine expected to arrive next week, Cumberland County officials held a news conference to update the public on what to expect.
“The vaccine distribution will ensure that those who need it most will get it first,” said Charles Evans, chairman of the Cumberland County Board of Commissioners
Local health officials urged people to not become fatigued taking measures in fighting COIVD-19 and to continue wearing masks, social distancing and washing their hands frequently.
“More than 120 county residents have died from this virus,” Evans said. “I want everyone to remember – these cases are people. Our brothers, sisters, parents, grandparents, friends and fellow citizens.”
Fayetteville Mayor Mitch Colvin asked residents to follow guidance from public health officials.
“My message is to the citizens of Fayetteville: We are walking through this together,” Colvin said. “Please listen to health officials and do the things they are telling us to do.”
Dr. Jennifer Green of the Cumberland County Health Department said they will be working with Fort Bragg to make sure that when the vaccine is delivered, they will make sure they have all the resources to store and distribute the vaccine to those who need it first.
Cases in Cumberland County, like in much of North Carolina, are on the rise. Currently, there are 10,843 positive cases and 124 deaths associated with COVID-19 in Cumberland County. The percentage of positive cases of those tested during the past two weeks is 9.6%. Along with community providers, Cumberland is testing more than 5,000 people each week.
“It’s critical for our hospital staff who are caring for our COVID-19 patients and our public health staff who will be staffing our mass dispensing sites to get vaccinated first,” Green said.
There are 60 patients with COVID-19 at Cape Fear Valley Medical Center and officials expect the number to grow.
Since the pandemic began the hospital has cared for more than 1,200 patients, including some as young as 2 weeks old.
Cumberland County Health Department will know more about the quantity of vaccinations they will receive after the holidays. Cape Fear Valley is prepared to receive 5,000 doses of the vaccine next week, said Mike Nagowski, Cape Fear Valley Health CEO.
“I will take the vaccine the moment it’s available,” Nagowski said. “I am 100% confident.”
5:04 p.m.
The Halifax County Health Department reports 25 new cases since Tuesday for a total of 2,184 total positive COVID 19 cases.
In all, there have been 38 deaths countywide. That’s 1.7% of cases.
2:07 p.m.
Sampson County reports 64 new active positive cases since Tuesday, including three new deaths from COVID-19.
The county has had a total of 4,117 cases and 53 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
12 p.m.
The bad news continues on the COVID-19 front. The state released more numbers, again showing the virus is not slowing down.
More than 2,440 people are now in North Carolina hospitals dealing with complications from the virus. That is 67 more than yesterday and more than has ever been reported.
The state is also reporting a record number of new positive COVID-19 cases–6,495. That makes the third time in a week that we’ve seen more than 6,000 new cases.
The state has not reported fewer than 1,000 new cases in more than two months.
And while the state is continuing to test more people, the rate of positive COVID-19 cases is not declining. Today’s rate is 11.7%. That is above where we were weeks ago and well above the state’s goal of 5% or fewer.
Another 56 people died from the virus, increasing its North Carolina death toll to 5,661.
Click here to look at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services COVID-19 metrics for yourself.
11 a.m.
The N.C. State men’s basketball team is suspending all team-related activities after two members of the program tested positive for COVID-19. The Wolfpack’s previously scheduled home game for Saturday against Florida Atlantic won’t be played.
“The health and safety of our student-athletes and staff remains our unwavering priority,” said NC State Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan. “We will continue to work with all appropriate parties and adhere to ACC, campus and local protocols to make the most responsible decisions moving forward.”
The university characterized those who tested positive as “members of the travel party.”
NCSU’s game against Michigan was postponed and its scheduled clash with UConn was canceled.
WEDNESDAY MORNING STORYLINES
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is directing many businesses to shut down by 10 p.m. in order to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Grocery chains and some retail stores that sell groceries will still be allowed to open past 10 p.m. Bars and restaurants must shut down by that time.
Cooper wants people off the streets from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. because of a sharp rise in cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the state.
North Carolina is hoping to deliver its first shipments of COVID-19 vaccines to hospital workers next week. Eleven North Carolina hospital sites, including four in our area, will get early shipments of the much-anticipated Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
Johnston County Schools will return to remote learning next Monday. Students in Granville County will also return to remote learning.
Cumberland County leaders will give an update on how the vaccination process will happen there. A press briefing is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The W.G. Pearson Elementary School Learning Center and meal site is closed again on Wednesday.
Copyright © 2020 ABC11-WTVD-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved – The Associated Press contributed to this report.