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:
Map of current NC cases
Latest updates:
8:50 p.m.: The Trump administration has ordered the Internal Revenue Service to put President Donald Trump's name to be printed on the stimulus checks being sent to American families to help boost the pandemic-ravaged economy, according to the Washington Post. The move marks the first time a president's name has appeared on an IRS disbursement.
7:50 p.m.: The coronavirus continues to expand in Durham nursing homes. The county reports 54 cases at Durham Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, up from 15 on Monday. Meanwhile, five cases have been reported at Durham VA Healthcare System Community Nursing Home, up from four Monday.
Treyburn Rehabilitation Center continues to report four coronavirus cases, according to county health officials.
Durham County has 349 cases total.
6:40 p.m.: Plans to reopen the national economy "are close to being finalized," President Donald Trump said, noting that he plans to speak with governors about launching individual plans in the coming weeks. Some states will be able to get started before May 1, he said.
"We will hold the governors accountable, but we will be working with them," he said.
Trump said a number of major businesses in various industries are weighing in on the restart decisions.
6:30 p.m.: The Trump administration is teaming with hospitals nationwide to create the Dynamic Ventilator Reserve Program to ensure ventilators can be shifted to areas where they are most needed during emergencies such as the current pandemic, officials said.
6:15 p.m.: President Donald Trump is halting U.S. contributions to the World Health Organization, pending an investigation into the group's "extreme mismanagement" of the coronavirus pandemic, including opposition to halting flights from China in the early weeks of the outbreak.
"The WHO failed in its basic duty and must be held accountable," Trump said at a news conference outside the White House. "So much death has been caused by their mistakes."
6 p.m.: Workers at a Butterball poultry processing plant in Mount Olive have tested positive for the new coronavirus, officials said. Other employees have been asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days.
"We take seriously our responsibility to continue producing food as the country responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the health of our team members is essential to this mission," company officials said in a statement. "In addition to our in-depth sanitation of production areas and shared common spaces, we have re-purposed space to allow team members to spread out on breaks, implemented body temperature screenings for all team members before entering the facility and encouraged team members to wear face masks while at our facilities. We are inspired by the resolve we have seen in Butterball team members day in and day out as we respond to this challenging situation."
5:40 p.m.: According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, 23,786 loans totaling $5.72 billion had been approved for small businesses in North Carolina as of Monday under the Paycheck Protection Program. The program is part of the massive federal stimulus package designed to keep workers on the payrolls of businesses that have shut down amid the coronavirus outbreak.
5:30 p.m.: Four more residents of the Springbrook Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Clayton have died from coronavirus-related complications, officials said. Two other residents died there more than a week ago.
Thirty-five current or former Springbrook residents and 19 staff members have tested positive for the virus.
5:25 p.m.: The U.S. Treasury Department and airlines have tentatively agreed on $25 billion in federal aid to pay workers and employ them through September.
5 p.m.: A worker at the QVC warehouse in Rocky Mount has tested positive for the coronavirus, officials said. Other workers who were in close contact with the employee have been asked to quarantine themselves.
QVC has cleaned and sanitized "the appropriate work stations and shared spaces," officials said in an email.
4:45 p.m.: Durham Public Schools, the school district's foundation, Durham County and area nonprofits and restaurants will launch a new meals program for low-income families on Thursday. Families coming to school sites across Durham County will receive free children’s breakfasts and lunches prepared by Durham restaurants, while adults will receive shelf-stable food supplies and/or family-style casseroles.
Families may pick up meals from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at the following sites:
- Bethesda Elementary, 2009 S. Miami Blvd.
- Eno Valley Elementary, 117 Milton Road
- Githens Middle, 4800 Old Chapel Hill Road
- R.N. Harris Elementary, 1520 Cooper St.
- Hillside High, 3727 Fayetteville St.
- Parkwood Elementary, 5207 Revere Road
- Sandy Ridge Elementary, 1417 Old Oxford Highway
From noon to 1:30 p.m. Mondays and Thursdays:
- Burton Elementary, 1500 Mathison St.
- Lakeview School, 3507 Dearborn Drive
- Shepard Middle, 2401 Dakota St.
- Southern School of Energy and Sustainability, 800 Clayton Road
- Southwest Elementary, 2320 Cook Road
From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays:
- Brogden Middle, 1001 Leon St.
- Eastway Elementary, 610 Alston Ave.
- Glenn Elementary, 2415 E. Geer St.
- Holt Elementary, 4019 Holt School Road
- Y.E. Smith Elementary, 2410 E. Main St.
- C.C. Spaulding Elementary, 1531 S. Roxboro St.
From noon to 1:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Fridays:
- Club Blvd. Elementary, 400 W. Club Blvd.
- Hillandale Elementary, 2730 Hillandale Road
- Holton Career & Resource Center, 401 N. Driver St.
- KIPP Durham, 1107 Holloway St.
- Maureen Joy Charter School, 107 S. Driver St.
- Lakewood Middle, 2119 Chapel Hill Road
The program replaces a daily one that DPS dropped after an employee tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting other district staff to drop out.
3:30 p.m.: Sixteen coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in North Carolina on Tuesday, making it the deadliest day in the state – by far – during the pandemic. The state recorded 12 deaths last Friday.
The latest deaths include one each in Durham, Chatham, Moore and Wayne counties.
3:15 p.m.: New York Attorney General Letitia James has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging its rule that narrows workers’ rights to paid sick leave and emergency family leave during the coronavirus pandemic. The regulations put forth by the U.S. Department of Labor contradict the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, James said, and risk denying financial support during the crisis and exposing workers, their families and their communities to unnecessary spread of the virus.
2:35 p.m.: A resident of The Laurels of Chatham nursing home in Pittsboro has become Chatham County's first COVID-19 death, officials said. The person had been in declining health before contracting the coronavirus.
Chatham County has 75 virus cases, with 57 of them at The Laurels of Chatham.
2:15 p.m.: State officials are seeing a slowing rate of increase in the numbers of coronavirus cases in North Carolina, although there are regional hotspots. Forecasting out over the next, Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said there is no peak yet for the pandemic in the state.
"I don't see a peak at this moment in time. I don't see a surge either," Cohen said.
2:10 p.m.: Although the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 in North Carolina jumped by more than 100 on Tuesday, the number of hospitals reporting that information is likely a factor in that, said Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services.
Cohen said officials are tracking how fast case numbers are growing overall to see trends over time, rather than one-day variations.
2:05 p.m.: The pandemic has caused the state pension fund to lose about 4.2 percent of its value in 2020, compared with the 14 percent loss for the S&P 500 index, State Treasurer Dale Folwell said. For the 2019-20 fiscal year, the pension fund is up 0.6 percent, compared to a 5 percent loss for the S&P.
2 p.m.: Dr. Mandy Cohen, secretary of the state Department of Health and Human Services, said a special enrollment period to obtain health insurance through the HealthCare.gov marketplace will help people who have lost their jobs – and employer-provided health coverage – because of the pandemic.
Cohen said she has written to U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar, asking the federal funds support pediatricians, obstetricians and other primary care physicians not included in a disbursement to providers serving Medicare patients.
1:50 p.m.: The state Division of Employment Security has paid $71.9 million in unemployment claims related to coronavirus-related shutdowns. Almost 580,000 people have filed for jobless benefits in the last four weeks, 87 percent of which are because of the pandemic, officials said.
1:40 p.m.: Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, says the U.S. does not yet have the critical testing and tracing procedures needed to begin reopening the nation’s economy, according to The Associated Press.
President Donald Trump has been anxious to restart the nation's economy, initially pushing for Easter weekend before relenting and keeping "social distancing" guidelines in place at least through the end of April.
“We have to have something in place that is efficient and that we can rely on, and we’re not there yet," Fauci said.
1:15 p.m.: Coronavirus cases have been reported at Scotland Correctional Institution and Pender Correctional Institution, meaning the virus is now in six of North Carolina's state prisons.
Neuse Correctional in Goldsboro has the most cases, 19 of the 34 reported in prisons statewide, according to state Department of Public Safety figures. Pasquotank Correctional and Caledonia Correctional have five cases each, while Johnston Correctional in Smithfield has three.
12:40 p.m.: Alliance Defending Freedom has filed a lawsuit against Greensboro and Guilford County on behalf of anti-abortion protesters arrested outside an abortion facility on March 30 on charges that they were in violation of a local stay-at-home order. ADF maintains that the group was in compliance with a Guilford County emergency proclamation related to the coronavirus crisis.
12:35 p.m.: Raleigh police dispersed a crowd of people from a parking lot near the state Legislative Building, concerned there were too many people too close together. The group was protesting the North Carolina stay-at-home order, asking Gov. Roy Cooper to reopen the state to bolster an ailing economy.
12:30 p.m.: The Federal Aviation Administration is awarding $283.7 million to 72 airports in North Carolina to support continuing operations and replace lost revenue resulting from the sharp decline in passenger traffic and other airport business during the pandemic. The money is part of the CARES Act passed last month by Congress.
Raleigh-Durham International Airport will receive $49.6 million, while Fayetteville Regional Airport will get nearly $3 million. Smaller regional airports in Franklin, Harnett, Lee, Nash and Moore counties will receive $69,000 each.
12:15 p.m.: Ten more people have died of coronavirus-related complications in North Carolina, pushing the state's death toll to 114. The state now has more than 5,050 cases – it passed the 4,000 mark last Friday – and about 420 of those people remain in the hospital. Nearly as many have recovered from COVID-19, the illness associated with the virus.
12:10 p.m.: Alamance County officials are disputing the state's count of 73 coronavirus cases in the county. Officials say that a batch of positive tests conducted at LabCorp's facility in Burlington defaulted to the county as they had no other addresses attached to them. LabCorp, the state Department of Health and Human Services and the Alamance County Health Department are working together to fix the problem.
Alamance County officials say the county's actual case count is 41. Twenty-one of those cases have been released from isolation, and two of the remaining cases are being treated in area hospitals.
12:05 p.m.: AAA Carolinas is offering its emergency roadside service free to first responders and health care workers in North and South Carolina through April 30. First responders and health care workers who are not AAA Members can call 866-727-9016 to receive help 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
“They are spending tireless hours protecting us while they are at work, and we want to protect them on their journey there and back,” Jim McCafferty, executive vice president and chief operating officer, said in a statement.
12 p.m.: Tyrrell County is the 93rd of North Carolina's 100 counties to report a coronavirus case. Of the seven that remain virus-free, five are along the mountainous border with Tennessee.
11:20 a.m.: Walmart is expanding the availability of its pick-up service, allowing seniors, first responders, customers with disabilities and anyone designated high-risk by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to pick up their orders curbside from 7 to 8 a.m. at 2,400 of its stores.
"These are extraordinary times, and we are constantly looking for ways we can help deliver that same peace of mind to all our customers, particularly those who are most at-risk," Tom Ward, senior vice president, said in a statement.
11:15 a.m.: Wake Prevent! has received calls from 464 families living in hotels needing assistance, officials said. The nonprofit, which is trying to keep the families off the streets during the pandemic, has screened 187 families and determined that 94 meet the criteria for support to remain in their hotel rooms for up to 12 weeks.
11:10 a.m.: The NHL is expanding its self-quarantine until April 30. The quarantine, originally in place through April 15, applies to all coaches, players and staff.
11 a.m.: An emergency room nurse at Duke Regional Medical Center is video blogging and telling WRAL News everything she has learned about the coronavirus.
Ashley Wheeler said the hospital is seeing "more profoundly sick people on a daily basis." She said some patients are experiencing what doctors call "happy hypoxia," which means their oxygen levels are low but they are still able to talk and communicate.
Wheeler said anyone can have a bad outcome from coronavirus. "Fever or no fever, it's confounding, because it seems so sneaky," she said. "It just kind of happens. It's scary because it's so random. You know, yes, immunocompromised people and older people are more likely to have a bad outcome, but it seems like it can get everybody – even healthy people with no risk factors."
10:45 a.m.: Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger's office has teamed up with the North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Art Examiners on a donation drive that has brought in more than 53,000 gloves, 4,100 masks and other personal protection equipment like gowns, shoe covers, face shields and disinfectant from salon owners statewide.
10:30 a.m.: President Donald Trump says he will ask Congress for a delay on the 2020 census to make sure it is completed safely and accurately. If the move is approved, it would push back timetables for releasing data used to draw congressional and legislative districts.
Officials are requesting all field operations be postponed until June 1 and the deadline for wrapping up the nation’s head count be pushed back to Oct. 31.
10:20 a.m.: The Carolina Community Garden at the North Carolina Botanical Garden, which usually donates the produce grown there to the lowest-wage workers at UNC-Chapel Hill is now giving the fruits and vegetables to health care workers at UNC Hospitals.
Stay-at-home orders prevent volunteers from maintaining the garden and harvesting the produce, so UNC Medical School students are handling those chores to fulfill volunteer service requirements of a new COVID-19 course.
10:05 a.m.: North Carolina's free and charitable clinics have found ways to continue treating the uninsured while keeping staff and patients safe – ultimately keeping thousands of patients out of hospital emergency departments. Sixty of North Carolina's 67 free and charitable medical clinics remain open through a new telemedicine program.
"We feel a responsibility to keep our patients out of the state's hospital emergency rooms during this pandemic, and it was through sheer determination – and bravery – that our member clinics have managed to keep their doors open," April Cook, board chair of the North Carolina Association of Free & Charitable Clinics, said in a statement. "Our challenge was to find a way to keep clinic staff and patients safe from those who might be infected – otherwise we'd have to close our doors."
North Carolina has about 1.3 million people who lack health insurance.
"For 50 years, we have asked our paid staff to subscribe to a Statement of Faith, but we have never asked any of the millions of people we have served to subscribe to anything," Graham said. "In other words, as a religious charity, while we lawfully hire staff who share our Christian beliefs, we do not discriminate in who we serve."
9:45 a.m.: Carolina Ballet has sewn more than 2,000 masks in the last two weeks and donated them to the area's needy. In a press release, Carolina Ballet Costume Director Kerri Martinsen said a team of 30 volunteers are sewing reusable, machine-washable masks using donated fabric and the ballet's own supply of elastics.
Covering the Triangle helps donate the masks to homeless, prison inmates and other people who are in situations that make social distancing difficult. The masks have also been given to the Durham Rescue Mission and the Durham Housing Authority.
9:30 a.m.: Data from Glassdoor shows 1 in 5 job openings have closed since the coronavirus pandemic, and 60% of employers have reduced hiring.
Data from 50 states and 100 of the largest U.S. metros broke down which industries have been most affected:
- Travel and tourism: 73% drop
- Arts and entertainment: 46% drop
- Retail: 21% drop
- Tech: 20% drop
Data shows remote work opportunities, however, are up 8% from April 2019.
9:15 a.m.: The International Monetary Fund reports the global economy will likely suffer its worst year in 2020 since the Great Depression.
9 a.m.: The American Academy of Family Physicians says the current shutdown could lead to 58,000 primary care doctors, or about half of the U.S. total, closing their practices. According to a report from FOX News, some offices were forced to essentially close because patients were afraid to come in.
Hospitals are suffering as well. Two multi-state networks furloughed 2,000 workers last week. Missouri hospitals say they're losing $32 million a day, and in Arkansas, hospitals are reporting 8,000 empty beds. "
Fewer visits mean fewer referrals to specialists, who are banned from the operating room as states outlaw all non-essential surgeries.
8:45 a.m.: WRAL TechWire reports loans given through the Small Business Association’s Paycheck Protection Plan are running out. Peter Gwaltney, chief executive of the North Carolina Bankers Association, said "funding is expected to run out Wednesday, according to the current rate of approvals."
Congress is debating legislation to approve another $250 billion for the program, Gwaltney noted, but quick approval for that capital infusion was delayed last week. As for the current program, Gwaltney said North Carolina banks “are still processing all day and into the night to process the loan applications they’ve received.”
8:15 a.m.: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the country is nearing the peak of coronavirus cases. More than 582,000 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in the United States. Spain is the next nearest country, with 172,000 cases.
Infections worldwide are just shy of 2 million.
8 a.m.: The National Institutes of Health is testing hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria the drug that the president claims is an effective treatment for COVID-19. Hydroxychloroquine is not FDA approved for use against COVID-19, but the FDA is allowing hospitals to use it on an emergency basis. The first patients enrolled in the testing trial are in Tennessee.
7:45 a.m.: New Hanover County is easing up on the area's stay-at-home order. Officials will now allow public boat ramps, marinas and tennis courts to open. They also relaxed the rules detailing what retailers are considered essential. Wrightsville Beach strands are still closed.
Meanwhile, Myrtle Beach is extending its COVID-19 emergency order for another 30 days. The order will now last until May 15, meaning no short-term rentals or hotel bookings will be accepted during that time.
7:30 a.m.: NBC Charlotte reports sales tax revenue is down 25-30% for the Queen City, and the city will have a shortfall of $13.7 million in total revenue. Tax money brought in from the hospitality industry will drop by 85% by mid-summer and likely won't return to normal until April 2021, depending on how long America is shutdown, the city said.
Gerald O. Glenn, 66, the founder and pastor of New Deliverance Evangelistic Church in Chesterfield, Va., died on Saturday night, according to Bryan Nevers, a church elder.
7 a.m.: ReopenNC, a Facebook group that already has more than 22,000 followers, feels the government's reaction to the coronavirus has been overly restrictive.
Mark McClellan of Duke University's Fuqua School of Business disagrees. "The stay-at-home orders have been really important in containing the spread of this epidemic," he said. "Right now, we're not ready" to ease up on business restrictions, he said, "but I think we can be in a matter of weeks."
6:45 a.m.: Duke University researchers are asking health care workers to join their registry of heroes. The Healthcare Worker Response and Outcome Registry, or HERO, project asks workers and volunteers on the front lines of the pandemic to share both clinical experiences and life stories on their website. Members can also take part in future research to test whether drugs can protect healthcare workers from coronavirus.
6:30 a.m.: The teacher placed on administrative leave after voicing concerns to WRAL News about his charter school reopening this week is taking action.
The Youngsville Academy teacher, who asked to remain anonymous, was placed on paid leave after an interview in which he criticized the school for reopening to teachers during the COVID-19 outbreak. According to a letter from the charter school, he was placed on leave for violating his contract and "disparaging the school.” The teacher told WRAL he has filed complaints with the North Carolina Department of Labor and OSHA.
6:15 a.m.: Karl-Anthony Towns' mother has died from coronavirus. The NBA player's father also contracted the virus but recovered.
The NBA may not be able to compete due to the pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped players from coming together for Towns. Several athletes and celebrities have expressed their condolences on social media.
6 a.m.: Thanks to donations, the Edgecombe County Sheriff's Office now has plenty of face masks for its staff.
5:45 a.m.: A Colorado meatpacking plant is temporarily shut down after nearly 200 workers tested positive for COVID-19. Two people have died.
The JBS plant will be closed until at least April 24. Over 6,000 workers at the plant will be paid during the closure.
5:15 a.m.: About 561,000 North Carolinians have applied for unemployment benefits in the last four weeks.
Between 50 and 70 million Americans should relieve stimulus checks from the federal government by Wednesday via direct deposit. Some people first started seeing the money over the weekend. Those who haven’t provided the IRS with their bank account information will get paper checks in the mail, which may take longer.
On Monday night, the IRS announced plans to launch a tracking tool to tell people exactly when their checks will be mailed.
The tool will go live on the IRS website this week.
5 a.m.: Halo Health is offering free antibody tests to health care workers on Tuesday. A finger prick yields results in 10 minutes to tell people if they have had the coronavirus and recovered from it. The tests are to thank health care workers for being on the front lines of the pandemic.
4:45 a.m.: More than 458,000 have recovered from coronavirus globally, and more than 33,000 have recovered in the U.S., according to the most recent numbers from Johns Hopkins University.
4:30 a.m.: The coronavirus is spreading in immigration detention, with more than 70 detainees in 12 states testing positive and hundreds of others under quarantine, AP reports. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has started to lower its detainee population to reduce the risk of people getting sick, but people held in immigration jails and their advocates say there’s still not enough protective gear, cleaning supplies or space that allows for social distancing.
4:15 a.m.: Sunnybrook Rehabilitation Center is waiting on the results from 25 coronavirus tests. A handful of people from the community, including three residents and two staff members, have already tested positive, according to Wake County health officials. Only the residents who showed symptoms were tested. One of the residents was in the hospital, and the staff members were recovering at home. Another facility, Wellington Rehabilitation and Healthcare in Knightdale, is battling coronavirus after two nurses and two residents tested positive.
4 a.m.: Cases continue to increase rapidly in North Carolina. There are now more than 4,900 cases in the state, and 104 people have died. At least 313 people are in the hospital. More than 10,000 people in the state of New York have died from COVID-19. The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus nears 2 million worldwide.
