RALEIGH, N.C. — Here are the latest North Carolina coronavirus updates on cases and the pandemic’s impact on our health, jobs, schools and more:
What you need to know:
- There are at least 11,840 people in 99 North Carolina counties who have tested positive for the coronavirus. There are at least 1,849 confirmed cases statewide of people recovering from the virus, although many counties aren't reporting those numbers.
- This week, the state has hit both its highest and lowest number of positive cases.
- 173 new cases were reported today. While that's still 173 people affect by the virus, it's much lower than yesterday's number: 385 people testing positive for the virus. This is the lowest number of new cases reported since April 5, but dips in the data are not uncommon.
- A total of 444 people have died in the state from the virus. 47% more people have been reported dead from the virus this week than last week in the state.
- Counties report 40% more cases this week than last week.
- There have been 2,203 cases in nursing homes and 234 deaths.
- 1,021 people have tested positive in correctional facilities and nine have died.
- Mecklenburg County has 25 new cases and Wilkes County has 33 new cases since yesterday.
- A statewide stay-at-home order runs at least through May 8, but Gov. Roy Cooper has laid out a three-phase plan for reopening businesses and social activities if data shows the virus is waning.
Where are infections, deaths in NC?
Stay on top of latest updates
Latest updates:
11:15 p.m.: The seven-day rolling average for coronavirus hospitalizations in North Carolina is up to 508, which is the highest so far. The average for new cases is down to 405 from 424 the day before, however, new cases are often not as highly reported during weekends. There is an average of 18 deaths per day.
10:00 p.m.: CBS News “60 Minutes” correspondent Lesley Stahl said Sunday that she's finally feeling well after a battle with COVID-19 that left her hospitalized for a week.
Stahl, 78, said she was “really scared” after fighting pneumonia caused by the coronavirus for two weeks at home before going to the hospital.
“One of the rules of journalism is ‘don’t become part of the story,'” Stahl said at the end of Sunday's broadcast. “But instead of covering the pandemic, I was one of the more-than-one-million Americans who did become part of it.”
9:30 p.m.: Walgreens is asking all customers to wear a face mask or face covering in their stores. Employees are already required to wear masks.
For children under the age of 2 years old and others who are unable to wear a mask because of health reasons, a mask is not required.
8:30 p.m.: The sixth person in Robeson County has died from COVID-19. The latest was an 80-year-old woman who had underlying medical conditions. The county has reported 236 positive tests as of Friday.
8:00 p.m.: President Trump returned from a weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland and participated in a “virtual” town hall, hosted Sunday night by Fox News Channel, from inside the Lincoln Memorial. He pushed for an economic reopening, one his advisers believe will be essential for his reelection chances this November.
“We have to get it back open safely but as quickly as possible," Trump said.
The president acknowledged fear on both sides of the issue, some Americans worried about getting sick while others are concerned about losing jobs.
6:50 p.m.: The Durham County Department of Health has confirmed a resident has died from COVID-19 bringing the total number of coronavirus-related deaths in the county to 24. The resident was over 65 years old and had several underlying health conditions. The county has confirmed 12 new cases of COVID-19 for a total of 767.
6:40 p.m.: While recent research suggests sunlight can help kill coronavirus, medical experts say it still doesn’t make it safe enough to forget about social distancing efforts in public places.
"As more and more people get out and mix people, despite the weather getting warmer, doesn’t mean there’s not going to be outbreaks and cases in different places," said former UNC doctor David Ingram.
5:00 p.m.: Drone video shows heavy crowds at Ocean Isle Beach.
The town loosened its restrictions to access on Thursday. Public parking has opened and short-term rental restrictions were lifted, but the beach still requires social distancing of six feet. (Video courtesy of Ethan Clark)
4:30 p.m.: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says China has been responsible for the spread of disease in the past and must be held accountable for the coronavirus pandemic that originated in the country.
In comments likely to spark protests from Beijing and elsewhere, Pompeo said “China has a history of infecting the world.” He cited poor safety and security at epidemiological laboratories, including in the city of Wuhan where the virus was first reported.
He stressed that he had no reason to believe that the virus was deliberately spread but he ramped up already harsh U.S. criticism of the Chinese for their response to the outbreak.
3:30 p.m.: Carteret County has received an additional confirmed case of COVID-19. The county has a total of 29 cases, with 5 active cases, 21 recovered people, and 3 deaths.
3:00 p.m.: According to the Wall Street Journal, a Swiss healthcare company named Roche has developed a coronavirus antibody test that has won FDA approval for emergency use. The company said its test has proven 100% accurate at detecting COVID-19 antibodies.
2 p.m.: Some North Carolina parks opened today after being closed for more than 2 weeks. The Jetton park, on the banks of Lake Norman, for example, opened up.
1:45 p.m.: Federal officials say that they are planning to release some non-violent offenders soon, but are still in the decision-making process on who will leave prisons and continue their sentencing at home. Meanwhile, families continue to stay worried about their loved ones in correctional facilities while cases continue to rise.
12:45 p.m.: One University of Oxford scientist is a part of developing a COVID-19 vaccine that could be ready as early as September,
he told the New York Times. To give people a better idea of what it would look like, he said it might be something you'd have to get every year to fight off the sickness.
11:30 a.m.: Another NC county reports a case of coronavirus. Yancey County, in the western part of the state, has reported one case in the past 24 hours. Only one county has not reported a case of coronavirus, Avery county has still not reported a case.
9:45 a.m.: Joe Biden wins Kansas historic mail-in primary conducted during a pandemic. The primary election in Kansas was conducted only by mail balloting because of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the AP. Bernie Sanders was still in the race when the party began mailing in votes in March and is no longer in the running.
9:30 a.m.: Researchers say that warm weather is not going to keep this virus away. Some of the worst outbreaks in the developing world have been in hot, humid climates in Brazil. Experts believe that getting out of the house and moving around can decrease your chances of getting the virus, but if someone doesn't continue to practice social distancing when they are out of the house, it can also put them at more risk,
according to the New York Times. 9 a.m.: Many Starbucks around the Triangle are closed right now. But, Starbucks announced they will welcome back customers tomorrow, but only one customer is allowed in the store at a time. An employee from the Starbucks on 4010 Durham-Chapel Blvd. said staff is required to wear a mask every time they work, and a notification in their headset reminds them to wash their hands every 30 minutes. A press release from Starbucks said some locations are taking employee's temperature at the the door.
8:30 a.m.: Wake County implements a hiring freeze after their budget is stretched thin. Sales tax revenue was down 40% with all the business closed in the county. On top of that, Wake County Schools say they need $3 million to continue operations, an amount they most likely won't get.
6:30 a.m.: North Carolina counties Avery and Yancey have not reported any cases of the coronavirus.
5:45 a.m.: The UK rolls out a new contact-tracing app and hopes to ease lockdown restrictions as the app shows success,
reports CNN. 
