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10:50 am
The Carolina Hurricanes have rescheduled a new 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 security measures related to COVID-19.
10:30 am
UNC Health is getting 10,000 doses of the state’s COVID-19 vaccine this week, which number is less than half what was expected.
The UNC Health system said it would not cancel or delay appointments based on the news. Due to the lower allocation, fewer appointments were scheduled.
“We understand the frustration and disappointment of not getting an appointment for a vaccination any sooner,” says Dr. Ian Buchanan, UNC Health President of Ambulatory and Post-Acute Care. “This is really a matter of supply and demand. We are well aware of the fear this is causing in everyone who is now eligible for a vaccine and cannot get an appointment or spend hours online to get one.”
UNC Health is asking patients to call the state’s COVID-19 at 1-877-490-6642 or look online to find a vaccination site. UNC has given more than 75,000 injections since the vaccination program started in December.
10:20 am
Wake County has declared a COVID-19 outbreak at a residential care center in Cary, the second in the facility since September.
Brookdale MacArthur Park, on MacArthur Drive, has had its second pandemic outbreak. An outbreak is defined as a situation where two or more people – residents or employees – tested positive. No other information about residents or employees was released.
10:15 am
The state has rolled out a COVID-19 Community Readiness toolkit to help people with disabilities and mental health issues. The toolkit contains resources for parents to help their children through distance learning and family-related needs.
The toolkit can be found here.
“These are unprecedented, stressful times, and we know that families and individuals are facing existing and new mental health challenges,” said Victor Armstrong, director of the Mental Health, Developmental Disorders, Substance Abuse Division. “We want to provide North Carolina people with this toolkit to give them all the support they need to navigate these difficult times to stay physically and mentally healthy.”
MONDAY MORNING STORYLINES
Three new COVID-19 test stations will open in Wake County on Monday.
Jaycee Park and Sertoma Arts Center in Raleigh, along with Lake Benson Park in Garner, are open for testing. All locations are accessible by public transport and start at 11am. You don’t need an appointment, insurance or ID to get tested.
Click here for the full, current list of testing sites in Wake County (including opening times).
Sunday was the fourth consecutive day of more than 100 COVID-19-related deaths in North Carolina. According to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, the US passed 25 million cases this weekend.
In Chatham County, more than 400 people (health workers and people over 65) are expected to be vaccinated on Mondays at the Chatham County Agriculture and Convention Center.
President Joe Biden is expected to restore COVID-19 travel restrictions for non-US citizens who have been in Brazil, Ireland, the United Kingdom and much of Europe.
SUNDAY
6 pm
The grim numbers released over the weekend are a cause for concern: 100 COVID-19 deaths four days in a row. Wake County Health authorities recommend testing for anyone who notices signs of potential exposure.
“So when you have a fever, you get a fever, you have nausea, you are vomiting, you have a headache, and you lose your sense of smell or taste. Those are typical symptoms of someone who may be symptomatic of COVID,” said Wake County Health clearly test Eugene Chalwe. “The county goal is to maintain six test sites every week. That’s why we maintain our three static sites, in Swinburne in Wake Forest off Departure Drive, and are still doing three rotating sites in each park.”
Wake County Health is partnering with Raleigh and Garner to make those sites available on Mondays: 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 across the country are still very high,” Chalwe said. “So we want people to respond to this access that they have and know that the focus is on the vaccine. They still need to be tested if they are exposed. We only know what your status is when you test. So if you don’t. test, and you have been in close contact and you have been contacted by the case evaluators, you should test. “
The tests are free and you do not need insurance or ID to get tested. Look here for the latest location of test locations.
12:15 pm
North Carolina reports 6,096 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the statewide total to 718,812.
Statewide, 3,303 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19. That is 113 lower than Saturday.
In North Carolina, 109 more people have died from COVID-19. That brings the total to 8,695. This is the fourth consecutive day that more than 100 people in North Carolina have died from the virus.
The state’s daily positive test rate is 10.5%. That is less than Saturday’s 10.9%.
11:04 am
According to Johns Hopkins University, there are 25,003,695 COVID-19 in the United States.
COVID in the US: 40% of Americans live in areas where ICU space is running out
SATURDAY
11:20 am
North Carolina reports 7,181 more cases of COVID-19, bringing the total to 712,716.
With 96 percent of hospitals reporting, 3,416 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19. That’s down 96. This is the fifth consecutive day that the number of hospital admissions has decreased.
There are another 122 COVID-19 deaths, bringing the total to 8,586 statewide.
The state reports a daily percentage positive test of 10.9%, a slight increase from Friday’s 10.1%.
10:30 am
Lee County officials reported four more COVID-19 deaths. This brings the total number of deaths in the province to 50.
10:08 am
NCDHHS reported the first identification of COVID-19 variant B.1.1.7 in a native of North Carolina on Saturday morning. The variant was first discovered in the United Kingdom in December.
The B.1.1.7 variant was found in an adult sample 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. Early data suggests that this variant may be more contagious than others.
Current COVID-19 vaccines are expected to be effective against the new variant, officials said.
“Although expected, the identification of this COVID-19 variant in North Carolina is of concern, especially at the same time that we are already seeing a very high number of cases,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, MD. “It’s more important than ever to practice the 3Ws.”
Healthcare leaders aren’t surprised by the tension here, but they are deeply concerned about what could happen next.
“The evidence we have so far is that it is more contagious than the currently circulating virus,” said North Carolina state epidemiologist Dr. Zack Moore. “It will really put pressure on us to be really extra careful with our prevention measures,”
The forecast comes as health care systems across the state are ramping up vaccination efforts feverishly.
“It’s kind of the perfect storm. We just can’t take a break and get ahead of this,” said Dr. Tom Denny, Duke Human Vaccine Institute’s Chief Operating Officer. “Our vaccine delivery rate across the country is still pretty slow, and we’re not likely to get it so much higher by April that if we have this variant, we can avoid it because we’ve vaccinated so many people.”
Denny says there is data showing that the current vaccine provides, for the most part, coverage against the variant.
7.15 am
According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 24,822,604 COVID-19 cases in the United States since March.
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