Governor Cooper’s order requiring people in North Carolina to wear cloth face coverings in public settings goes into effect at 5 p.m. today.
North Carolina officials reported an additional 1,635 positive COVID-19 cases statewide today, reaching a total of nearly 59,000 since the outbreak began earlier this year. North Carolina continues to see a high number of hospitalizations – 892 reported earlier today, slightly lower than the 915 recorded on Tuesday, the highest to date. Sadly, an additional 13 individuals have died of COVID-related causes, bringing the total to 1,303 statewide.
The Wayne County Health Department will offer free COVID-19 testing funded by the CARES Act in Goldsboro from 9 a.m. to Noon on Tuesday and Thursday. Testing will be offered at the GWTA Transit Center, 103 N. Carolina St. Testing is open to everyone, but preregistration is recommended to ensure an appointment time. Individuals may call the Health Department at 919-731-1000 from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Friday and Monday to preregister. Testing will be provided to the public regardless of insurance and there will be no cost to the individual.
The CDC has updated and expanded the list of people at risk of severe COVID-19 illness. Specifically, the CDC says:
Older adults and people with underlying medical conditions remain at increased risk for severe illness, but now CDC has further defined age- and condition-related risks.
CDC has removed the specific age threshold from the older adult classification. CDC now warns that among adults, risk increases steadily as you age, and it’s not just those over the age of 65 who are at increased risk for severe illness.
Recent data, including a report published last week, has shown that the older people are, the higher their risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Age is an independent risk factor for severe illness, but risk in older adults is also in part related to the increased likelihood that older adults also have underlying medical conditions.
CDC also updated the list of underlying medical conditions that increase risk of severe illness after reviewing published reports, pre-print studies, and various other data sources. CDC experts then determined if there was clear, mixed, or limited evidence that the condition increased a person’s risk for severe illness, regardless of age.
A study published today further adds to the growing body of research on risk by comparing data on pregnant and nonpregnant women with laboratory-confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection. Pregnant women were significantly more likely to be hospitalized, admitted to the intensive care unit, and receive mechanical ventilation than nonpregnant women; however, pregnant women were not at greater risk for death from COVID-19.
New Hanover County has awarded130 local small businesses with $10,000 each through the county’s Small Business Economic Incentive Grant Program. The total grant pool of $1.3 million was approved by the County earlier this month, and these 130 businesses were chosen from among around 800 who applied via a random lottery selection. The Small Business Grants Program, designed to help struggling small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic, was created using funds awarded to the county by Congress in the CARES Act.
