DATA: North Carolina – The Skinny – May 8

By the Numbers:

• 13,953 known cases in NC (as of 5:32 p.m.)
• 13,868 positive cases confirmed by NCDHHS
• 1,281,246 cases in the U.S. (as of 5:32 p.m.)
• 178,613 completed tests in North Carolina
• 8,408,788 completed tests in the U.S.
• 515 people currently hospitalized due to COVID-19
• 529 deaths in North Carolina
• 76,901 deaths in the U.S. (as of 5:32 p.m.)
• 99 counties in NC with cases (Avery County remains the one county without a case)

Latest Developments

• State prison employees will no longer be tested for COVID-19 through a deal with the State Treasurer’s office after the Department of Public Safety expressed safety and privacy concerns about mass testing.
• Robeson County reported positive cases in a 6-month-old, a 9-year-old, and an 11-year-old.
• Assistant Agriculture Commissioner Joe Reardon estimates that the state’s meat processing plant production has slowed by 35%-45% because of COVID-19. 
• With state parks reopening this Saturday, park officials are expecting “extreme overcrowding.”
• New figures from DPS show that nearly 200 inmates in state prisons were allowed to complete their sentences outside of prison because of COVID-19. 
• The two companies partnering with DHHS for contract tracing have direct ties to the state health director,  Elizabeth Tilson.

Quick Hits

• The April jobs report shows the unemployment rate hit a record high of 14.7%, taking out a decade of job growth in one month
  • From The Wall Street Journal: “The U.S. jobless rate eclipsed the previous record rate of 10.8% for data tracing back to 1948, though it was well below the 25% rate economists estimate was reached during the Great Depression. The job losses due to business closures triggered by the pandemic produced by far the steepest monthly decline on records back to 1939. By comparison, nearly 2 million jobs were lost in one month in 1945, at the end of World War II.” 
• Larry Kudlow, a top economic advisor to President Trump, said “formal negotiations” on another stimulus package are paused until late May or early June.
  • “Mr. Kudlow said the administration is continuing to have informal conversations with lawmakers, noting that he and Kevin Hassett, another economic adviser to the president, spoke by phone with several dozen House lawmakers on Thursday.” 
• Data compiled by the Urban Institute shows that income and sales tax revenue collections have dropped between 20% and more than 50% depending on the state.
  • A recent analysis from Moody’s Analytics found 33 states will need to fill budget gaps of 5% or more.