Coronavirus coverage in North Carolina, April 13, 2020: North Carolina reaches 100 deaths

Coronavirus

Mapping COVID-19 cases

“The president calls the shots,” he said.

The IRS also is setting up a site for people who would otherwise receive a paper check in several weeks to provide information that will allow direct deposit more quickly, Mnuchin said.

During the daily White House update on the pandemic, Trump played a video several minutes long highlighting the timeline of his actions and clips of political rivals criticizing him and some governors praising his administration’s actions.

The Food and Drug Administration authorized the test under its emergency powers to quickly clear new tests and therapies to fight the outbreak, the New Jersey university said Monday.

The test initially will be available through hospitals and clinics affiliated with the school. The announcement comes as communities across the U.S. continue to struggle with testing to help track and contain the coronavirus.

Chloroquine and a similar drug, hydroxychloroquine, have been pushed by President Donald Trump after some early tests suggested the drugs might curb the virus from entering cells.

But the drugs are known to have potentially serious side effects. Only 81 out of the planned 440 participants had been enrolled in the Brazilian study when scientists saw that many in the higher-dose group developed abnormal heartbeats.

"This groundbreaking Wake Forest Baptist Health study ... will fill a critical data gap that’s been missing for many weeks and will help us learn if the true situation is better or worse than the models project," Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger said in a statement. "Nobody knows the true hospitalization and fatality rates for this virus, even as the government has ordered a full-scale economic shutdown."

Berger has repeatedly called for random sample testing in North Carolina to determine the extent of the virus, suggesting that restrictions Gov. Roy Cooper has put in place to curb the virus have been overdone.

256 new cases were added since yesterday. 96 people have died, and 375 have recovered.

State Public Safety Secretary Erik Hooks said the 500 inmates now being considered for community confinement is part of the process of lowering inmate population during the pandemic, not the final number.

“What we are doing is working. We’re saving lives,” Cooper said.

Noting “the biggest enemy is complacency,” the governor asked people to continue abiding by his stay-at-home order through April. He said his administration is looking at models to determine how best and when to start reopening the state’s businesses.

About 561,000 people in North Carolina have applied for unemployment benefits in the last four weeks, and the state has paid out $66 million so far, Cooper said.

The agency says six women, all pregnant or over 65, were released Thursday. Some 500 more are being considered.

They include pregnant inmates and those 65 and older with underlying health conditions. Prison officials are also considering offenders 65 and over and female offenders 50 and older with health conditions and a 2020 release date. Offenders already on home leave or on work release with a 2020 release date could also qualify.

"By law, the Public Safety secretary has the authority to allow certain individuals to serve their sentence outside of a DPS prison facility, but under the supervision of community corrections officers and/or special operations officers," said a department spokeswoman.

Secretary of Public Safety Erik Hooks said no inmates who have committed a violent crime against a person will be considered for release because of the virus.

Officials are also looking at electronic monitoring and delayed sentences to get juveniles out of state detention facilities, he said, noting the population has dropped by 25 percent since early March.

Governors and local leaders, who have instituted mandatory restrictions that have the force of law, have expressed concern that reopening too soon will cost lives and extend the duration of the outbreak. Under the Constitution, public health and safety is primarily the domain of state and local officials. It was not clear by what, if any, authority Trump could overrule their decisions.

Saturday, Durham County announced 15 cases were confirmed at Durham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

As of noon Monday, Durham had 290 total cases countywide.

Ninety-five people have died of complications from the virus in North Carolina, a number that has more than doubled in just a week.

Stephanopoulos, who anchors "Good Morning America," announced his coronavirus diagnosis on the morning news show Monday. He said he has no symptoms.

Both WakeMed and UNC Rex reported no damage to their tents. At UNC Rex, access to tents was blocked through 10:30 a.m. while the storms blew through.

"In keeping with public health guidance in response to Covid-19, the justices and counsel will all participate remotely," the court announced in a statement.

The Navy did not disclose the name of the sailor, who was admitted to the intensive care unit of a US Navy hospital on Thursday.

Nearly 600 sailors on the Roosevelt have tested positive for Covid-19, the US Navy said in a statement, adding that 92% of the Roosevelt's crew members have been tested for the virus.

The impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the Roosevelt was at the center of a controversy that led to the resignation last week of Acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who had dismissed the aircraft carrier's captain Brett Crozier after the leak of a memo in which he implored Navy officials to urgently evacuate the ship to protect the health of its sailors.

Gov. Roy Cooper and the state task force are scheduled to update conditions in North Carolina at 3 p.m.

Both updates will be live on WRAL-TV and WRAL.com.

According to the district, the remote learning will not replace classroom instruction but will provide continuous learning opportunities. Most teachers will use Canvas, Google Classroom or Seesaw to reach their students.

At-home, online, classes resume for students in Wake County public schools

For those students who don’t have access to internet, the district is expected to receive more than 10,000 hot spot devices that will be distributed this week. UNC-TV and the N.C. Department of Public Instruction are also expanding their educational programming for all students.

Some Wake County students and parents are pushing for letter grades on the spring report card instead of a simple pass/fail. The district is waiting for additional guidance from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.

Schools will reopen sometime after May 15.

The first payments will be to people who filed tax returns in 2019 or 2018 and received funds via direct deposit. Social security recipients will have to wait until later this month. Paper checks will start going out in May.

"We really wanted together for Easter," said Bevelyn Beatty who traveled to Kentucky from New Jersey to attend the service. "I have never not went to church for Easter and I refuse to do it even with the situation going on my Lord is more important."

Grocery stores prepare for tightening social distancing requirements

Starting at 5 p.m., there will be new limits on the number of people inside a store at one time. There will also be markings showing 6 feet of distance in stores and more frequent cleaning procedures. People who violate these new guidelines can face citations.