RALEIGH, N.C. — Here are the latest updates on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak in North Carolina and across the globe:
What you need to know:
Latest updates:
8:40 p.m.: The first positive test for COVID-19 of an inmate has been reported by the NC Department of Public Safety. Officials said the inmate is at the minimum custody unit of the Caledonia Correctional Complex in Halifax County.
“We have prepared long and hard for this day,” said Todd Ishee, Commissioner of Prisons. “This is not a surprise and we are following the infectious disease protocols we have in place for exactly this type of situation. Our top priority is the health and safety of our staff and the men and women in our care.”
Officials said the individual is a male in his 60s. He is in isolation away from other prisoners and is being treated.
7:35 p.m.: A patient at the PruittHealth Carolina Point nursing home in Durham has tested positive for the new coronavirus, the company said in a tweet. Patients at two other PruittHealth facilities in Georgia also have tested positive.
7:20 p.m.: A Rockingham County resident is the 15th North Carolinian to die of coronavirus-related complications, according to county health officials.
7:10 p.m.: A second worker at a Wells Fargo office complex in west Raleigh has tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials said. The first employee works on the first floor of the 1100 Corporate Center Drive building, while the latest case works on the second floor of the building but hasn't been at the office since March 11.
"Wells Fargo again quickly activated our protocols, and the company continues to follow all public health guidance. We performed enhanced cleaning at the location, and determined there were no other team members who came into close proximity with this employee," spokesman Josh Dunn said in an email.
Neither of the two workers came into contact with customers, Dunn said.
6:35 p.m.: Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina is waiving deductibles and co-payments for treatments related to COVID-19 if a member is diagnosed with the new coronavirus.
“Blue Cross NC is doing all it can to make sure costs are not a barrier to care. We want our members to focus on getting well knowing that they are covered,” Gerald Petkau, chief operating officer and interim CEO, said in a statement. “This is a public health emergency that is requiring everyone in the health care community to do their part, and we’ll continue to respond and determine how to best serve our members in the face of COVID-19.”
6:30 p.m.: President Donald trump said he won't reopen the Affordable Care Act's public exchanges for people to sign up for health insurance during the pandemic.
6:15 p.m.: President Donald Trump said some Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals could be converted to handling COVID-19 patients.
5:50 p.m.: A Bertie County resident has become the 14th North Carolinian to die from coronavirus-related complications.
5:40 p.m.: A cafeteria worker at the state Legislative Building in downtown Raleigh has tested positive for coronavirus, officials said. The woman was sent home last Thursday after showing signs of illness, and she and others who worked with her are now in isolation.
The cafeteria has been closed and will undergo an extensive cleaning. The snack bars in the basement of the Legislative Building and the Legislative Office Building will also be cleaned and will convert to takeout-only service on Thursday.
5:35 p.m.: A paramedic in Charlotte has tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials said. The paramedic hasn't worked on an ambulance since last Thursday and didn't report any COVId-19 symptoms until Sunday.
"The source of the positive test is unknown, and we can confirm our provider did not transport a patient who had tested positive," Jeff Keith, deputy director of Medic, which handles EMS services in Mecklenburg County, said in a statement. "Though this was a seemingly inevitable situation with what frontline emergency medical professionals are facing during this global pandemic, we would like to take this opportunity to emphasize how grateful we and the community are for our employees who put themselves at risk every day."
5:25 p.m.: A Mecklenburg County resident has become the 13th North Carolinian to die of coronavirus-related complications, state officials said. More than 1,650 people statewide have tested positive for the virus.
4:35 p.m.: Beginning April 13, all year-round schools in Wake County will follow a traditional school calendar for as long as schools remain closed because of the pandemic, Wake County Public School System officials said.
"We are making this change in an effort to keep as many students as possible engaged in learning while schools are closed and the travel outside the home is limited based on the governor’s stay-at-home directive," district officials said in an online post.
Should schools be closed the remainder of the year, the school year for Track 1 of year-round calendars will end June 4. All other affected schools would end June 11. Should schools reopen in May, necessary adjustments will be made to calendars at that time.
Modified calendar and early college high schools aren't affected by the change.
4:30 p.m.: All American Week activities at Fort Bragg have been canceled. The annual event, which celebrates the 82nd Airborne Division’s history and paratroopers of the past and present, had been scheduled for May 18-21.
"As the coronavirus continues to impact every aspect of our lives, it’s with a heavy airborne heart that we announce the cancelation of All American Week,” Maj. Gen. James Mingus, commander of the 82nd Airborne, said in a statement. "This decision was not made lightly, but it was made to safeguard the health and well-being of our All American family, many of which are amongst the most vulnerable populations."
4:20 p.m.: The federal prison complex in Butner reports that nine inmates have tested positive for coronavirus, up from two on Monday. One staff member also has tested positive.
Federal prisons across the U.S. report a total of 57 inmates and 37 staffers with the virus.
4 p.m.: Stocks continue to fall as the number of coronavirus cases rises and the economic toll of the outbreak worsens. The Dow Jones average dropped by 4.4 percent.
3 p.m.: The U.S. now has more than 200,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, according to a Johns Hopkins University database. Worldwide, there are more than 911,000 cases, more than 45,000 deaths and nearly 200,000 people who have recovered from COVID-19, the illness associated with the virus.
2:50 p.m.: A Wilkes County woman has become the 12th North Carolina resident to die of coronavirus-related complications, according to state officials. So far, 1,626 people in 82 of the state's 100 counties have tested positive for the virus.
2:30 p.m.: Starting Friday, Costco will allow no more than two people to enter a store per membership card to assist with "social distancing," officials said.
2:15 p.m.: Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, pushed back against suggestions that everyone wear masks to slow the spread of the coronavirus. Masks, which are already in short supply, need to go to health care providers and others on the front lines of the virus fight, she said.
2:10 p.m.: U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials tell the Washington Post that the government’s emergency stockpile of respirator masks, gloves and other medical supplies is nearly exhausted because of the coronavirus outbreak, leaving federal and state governments to compete for personal protective equipment on the private market.
2:05 p.m.: North Carolina is receiving its third shipment of medical supplies from the strategic national stockpile, state Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry said. The state has ordered $100 million in supplies from other sources but has received "very little" of that, he said.
"We are very persistent, we are relentless in seeking out sources," he said.
Sprayberry said health care providers who want to volunteer with COVID-19 response can register at terms.ncem.org.
He also noted that the Federal Emergency Management Agency is waiving rent for the next three months for dozens of families still living in temporary housing following Hurricane Florence.
2 p.m.: Boone-based Samaritan’s Purse has opened an emergency field hospital in New York's Central Park, adjacent to Mount Sinai Hospital, to provide additional specialized care for victims of the COVID-19 pandemic. The hospital is staffed with 76 disaster response specialists, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, lab technicians and critical support personnel.
Samaritan's Purse opened a similar field hospital in Italy two weeks ago to help handle a surge in COVID-19 patients there.
1:55 p.m.: Duke Clinical Research Institute is leading a $50 million study to understand the impact of COVID-19 on health care workers and evaluate whether hydroxychloroquine can prevent coronavirus infections in health care workers at high risk of contracting the virus.
1:50 p.m.: IBM is partnering with Scripps Research to bring together volunteers to help scientists seek chemical compounds that might be effective against the coronavirus. People can sign up to join IBM's World Community Grid at www.worldcommunitygrid.org and "donate" computing power to scientists.
Volunteers download a secure software program to their computers, and when a device is idle or not using its full computing power, it will perform computations – virtual lab experiments – in the background, without slowing down the system down. The computer automatically and securely sends computational results to World Community Grid's server, and results from the hundreds of thousands of volunteers worldwide are checked to ensure that the computations were performed correctly before they are sent to the Scripps Research team for analysis.
1:30 p.m.: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, under pressure, abandons partial measures and issues a statewide stay-at-home order. It is the 34th state with a statewide order. Ten other states have partial orders.
12:20 p.m.: Cumberland County officials have issued a "rumor control" update to "counter misinformation in the public and alleviate the large number of calls" to the county health department from concerned residents. No positive coronavirus cases have been linked to a Pizza Hut in Spring Lake, officials said.
"We understand the concern of the public and encourage citizens to be cautious of rumored cases associated with businesses and other entities in the community," Public Health Director Dr. Jennifer Green said in a statement.
Health officials notify the public with details of locations, dates and times whenever an infected person may have exposed others to the virus, Green said.
11:55 a.m.: Home Depot stores will close at 6 p.m., effective Wednesday, to give staff time to restock and sanitize the stores each night, company officials said. Stores also may start limiting the number of people inside at a given time to promote "social distancing," officials said.
11:45 p.m.: World Overcomers Christian Church is offering its production staff and technology to local pastors to record sermons at the Durham church, which they can then share on any platform.
The church also is hosting a drive-thru pantry from noon to 3 p.m. Saturdays for people in need, and volunteers also will make contact-free deliveries of groceries to families that live near Long Meadow Park in east Durham.
The delivery is part of the "Feeding the Soul" program, a partnership between the NCHF COVID-19 Healthcare Hero Response Fund and local restaurants to provide meals to health care workers. The program allows people to purchase meals from local restaurants to be delivered to the workers. All monetary donations go to support local restaurants and feed health care workers.
11:30 a.m.: Joe Van Gogh Coffee is giving customers a chance to give back to first responders and other essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The "Fuel for the Frontlines" program allows customers to donate coffee and baked goods to health care workers, grocery staff and first responders in Durham and Chapel Hill. Customers have the option to donate to to UNC Hospitals in Chapel Hill, Whole Foods Market in Durham or Chapel Hill, Weaver Street Market in Chapel Hill or the Durham Police Department.
11:15 a.m.: Wimbledon has been canceled for the first time since World War II. The tennis tournament was scheduled to be played on the outskirts of London from June 29 to July 12.
11:05 a.m.: Clinics and labs at UNC-Chapel Hill that aren't using personal protective equipment while students are away taking classes online are donating the needed supplies to UNC Health for distribution to hospitals.
The Adams School of Dentistry donated 366,000 gloves, 105,000 masks and 600 canisters of disinfectant, while a UNC School of Nursing lab donated more than 2,000 face masks and 16,460 pairs of non-sterile gloves. Even the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center donated thousands of gloves.
10:45 a.m.: UNC-Chapel Hill announced it will waive tuition and fees for an accelerated version of the university's online, self-paced registered nurse refresher theory course for April. The program will help trained and licensed nurses quickly get back into the field as COVID-19 creates a need for more health care workers.
10:30 a.m.: Goldsboro will light its Holly Street Water Tower as a symbol of hope and a sign of support for the people fighting the disease.
“We are thankful for the efforts of everyone to slow the spread of COVID-19 and mitigate its impact to the health, welfare, and well-being of our residents and visitors,” said Goldsboro City Manager Tim Salmon.
10:15 a.m.: The Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg has become a coronavirus testing site.
9:40 a.m.: Stocks fell more than 3 percent at open on Wall Street following declines in Asia and Europe.
9:30 a.m.: The Cardinal at North Hills is using its courtyard to bring senior citizens together at a distance. Every day at 11 a.m., residents head out to their balconies for a flag raising, singing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
9:20 a.m.: Nurses at HCA’s Mission Hospital in Asheville plan to deliver a petition to hospital managers with their concerns about hospital COVID-19 preparedness. Nurses at hospitals in six other states also are worried they don't have the personal protective equipment they need to protect themselves and patients.
9:15 a.m.: Effective Wednesday, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act becomes law, providing paid sick leave and expanded family and medical leave for employees at businesses that employ fewer then 500 people.
Paid leave provisions apply to leave taken between April 1 and Dec. 31, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
9 a.m.: The White House said it
estimates between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans could die from coronavirus in the coming weeks. There have already been more than 3,800 deaths in the U.S. More than 262 million Americans – 80 percent of the population – are under stay-at-home orders. North Carolina has more than 10 million residents impacted by stay-at-home orders.
8:30 a.m.: After a group of 70 University of Texas students went to Mexico a week and a half ago for spring break, 28 have tested positive for the new coronavirus. Those who tested positive are self-isolating, while others are under quarantine.
8 a.m.: Walmart is taking extra precautions to protect employees and shoppers from the spread of coronavirus. They are installing plexiglass at cash registers and pharmacies, labeling the aisles with X's to help people know where to stand in line to maintain social distancing and ordering masks and gloves for employees who want to wear them.
7:30 a.m.: Fayetteville's curfew, which runs from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m., begins Wednesday.
7 a.m.: A 14-year veteran of the Montgomery County Sheriff's office passed away in a hospital in Pinehurst from complications of the coronavirus.
Deputy Sypraseuth "Bud" Phouangphrachanh, 43, was hospitalized Monday for COVID-19 and died on Wednesday. Officials said he thought his initial symptoms were allergies, but he began in-home isolation after being tested for coronavirus.
Friends, colleagues and loved ones posted tributes and well-wishes. One said, "The saddest thing about COVID-19 is how isolating it is in its final stages. Because it's so infectious, most of its victims slowly wither without any loved ones at their sides."
6:30 a.m.: Uber said it will offer 10 million free rides and deliveries to health care workers, seniors and people in need.
5:15 a.m.: Gas prices are lower than they have been in four years, AAA reports. The average gas price in the U.S. is now under $2 as people are encouraged to stay home. The cheapest gas in the area is priced at $1.39 in Angier, according to
WRAL's FuelTracker.
5 a.m.: With the spotlight on supporting the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic, some small businesses say they’re feeling forgotten, and they're desperate for the community’s support.
Redd’s is a family-owned business in Durham that’s been around for more than 30 years supplying restaurant equipment and kitchen supplies. But, with restaurants closed, owners said more than 80 percent of their business is gone. Jason and Elise Herman, a mother-and-son team and Redd's owners, said they have applied for a small business loan and programs like the CARES Act but got many bounce-back emails because of overwhelmed servers.
They say the
best support they can get now is from the community, and they’ll continue to stay open with no contact pick-ups. “We want people to know we need to be supported just like Walmart and all these big chains are supported in order for us to survive," they said. "We need to help with the community.”
4:30 a.m.: The single day death toll surpassed 800 in the U.S. on Tuesday.
As the number of coronavirus deaths continues to surge in the U.S., officials are warning the disease could kill between 100,000 and 240,000 Americans, even if people continue to stay home and limit their contact with others.
The projections presented at the White House media briefing suggested that, if no social distancing measures had been put in place across the country, between 1.5 million and 2.2 million people would have died.
4 a.m.: The White House is considering whether to ask all Americans to wear face masks. As of now, the CDC has not recommended the public wear masks unless they are showing respiratory symptoms.
One of their concerns is that recommending masks could cause even worse shortages for the health care workers who need them, but the White House suggested it doesn’t have to be a classical mask -- just something that could help prevent people from infecting others.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump said Americans could use scarves as makeshift protective masks. Other countries affected like Slovakia and Austria are requiring everyone to wear a mask in public to help contain the spread.
