DATA: North Carolina – The Skinny – May 6

By the Numbers:

• 12,883 known cases in NC (as of 5:32 p.m.)
• 12,758 positive casesconfirmed by NCDHHS
• 1,223,419 cases in the U.S. (as of 5:32 p.m.)
• 164,482 completedtests in North Carolina
• 7,759,771 completed tests in the U.S.
• 516 people currently hospitalized due to COVID-19
• 485 deaths in North Carolina
• 72,812 deaths in the U.S. (as of 5:32 p.m.)
• 99 counties in NC with cases

Latest Developments

• With the state facing a need for nurses (temporary, part-time, and full-time), state health officials and volunteers from East Carolina’s School of Nursing joined forces to place nurses in facilities that have the greatest need, particularly long-term care facilities.
• A survey of inspection reports for nursing homes foundthat “of the 17 facilities whose inspection reports were reviewed, nine had inspections since January 2019 that found deficiencies involving injuries to residents or a failure to maintain cleanliness or take steps to control the spread of infectious disease.” According to the survey, there were dozens of “serious lapses in safety and care” at some of the facilities hit hardest by COVID-19.
  • According to the DHHS COVID-19 dashboard, there have been 229 deaths due to COVID-19 in nursing homes across the state. That is 48% of the state’s total deaths due to COVID-19.
  • There are 1,933 confirmed COVID-19 cases in nursing homes, out of the state’s 12,758.
• This week more than 280 school buses will be outfitted with Wi-Fi hotspotsfor students who might not otherwise have access to internet.  The buses will park in designated spots in underserved areas.
• Currituck, Dare, and Hyde counties are lifting visitor restrictions starting at noon on Saturday, May 16. They cautioned that visitors will still need to practice social distancing.
• Attorney General Josh Stein announced the state’s first COVID-19 price-gouging lawsuit against a Charlotte towing company.
• Pick-your-own strawberry farms are adapting to social distancing practices and some have completely transitioned to doing a drive-thru market version.
• A Lillington plant has added non-surgical isolation gowns to its production.

 Quick Hits

• Today, President Trump announced that the White House’s coronavirus task force would remain in place, but shift its focus to reopening the country and vaccine development.
  • From The Wall Street Journal:“I thought we could wind it down sooner. But I had no idea how popular the task force is until actually yesterday when I started talking about winding down,” he told reporters at the White House. He said he plans to add two or three members to the task force by next week but still intends to disband the group “at a certain point,” though he didn’t offer a timeline.

• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said the majority of COVID-19 hospitalizations in recent days were individuals that weren’t working and had been living in their homes.
  • FromThe Wall Street Journal: “The number of new coronavirus patients entering hospitals in the state each day declined to around 600 this week from more than 900 last week, when the Democratic governor ordered the survey. It included 1,269 respondents at 113 hospitals earlier this week. Only 17% of the patients were working, compared with 37% who were retired and 46% who were unemployed, the survey said. Sixty-six percent of patients said they were at home before they were admitted to the hospital, compared with 18% who had been in nursing homes, 4% from assisted-living facilities and less than 1% from prisons.”

• An agreement reached between Germany’s 16 states says schools, restaurants and hotels can reopen in the coming weeks as long as they follow safety and hygiene measures.

The IRS says stimulus payments made to individuals who are dead, incarcerated, or nonresident aliens must be returned.