Coronavirus cases in NC rise with new concerns about the virus spreading at protests
North Carolina health officials reported 674 new lab-confirmed coronavirus cases on Monday, as state officials used this weekend’s protests to focus on racial heath inequities and the state’s efforts at remedies.
The state Department of Health and Human Services reports 29,263 lab-confirmed cases since the first in March.
There have been 5,619 lab tests completed since Sunday, for a total of 421,908 tests completed since March, with a total of 9% testing positive.
African American and Latino residents bear a heavier burden from the coronavirus. While African Americans are 22% of the state’s population, they account for 30% of confirmed coronavirus cases and 34% of COVID-19 deaths. Hispanic residents account for 38% of confirmed cases and 7% of COVID-19 deaths, while making up less than 10% of the state’s population.
Dr. Mandy Cohen, DHHS secretary, focused on the health inequities in a news conference Monday, after people by the thousands in the state’s biggest cities, including Raleigh and Charlotte, gathered to protest the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis over the weekend. Many people in the Raleigh protest were seen wearing masks, but some weren’t. And many people stood and walked side-by-side.
“Too many families have lost loved ones,” Cohen said. “I understand the despair and fully support the need to peacefully protest. And I was heartened to see that in the midst of so much pain, many showed the care for those around them by covering their face. However, any form of violence and destruction does not serve our collective goals for justice. My heart goes out to business owners throughout the state who are grappling with losses. “
Chris Kippes, Wake County director of public health, told The News & Observer he’s concerned about viral spread at protests.
“Based on what we all saw, you saw different levels of social distancing,” he said in an interview Monday. “You saw different levels of protective measures that people were taking or not taking such as wearing masks or not wearing masks or things of that nature. Those are the things that will concern us.
“We know the virus is still in our community,” Kippes said. “We know it’s still circulating, right? And yet we know that we have to maintain as much social distancing and use efforts to help reduce the chance that exposure is occurring. Those are the challenges that we face.”
Challenges with contact tracing
The state is using a combination of increased testing and contact tracing to try to reduce infection rates. Contact tracing is challenging when someone infected with the virus was part of a crowd.
Wake faced such a situation early in the pandemic, when a Wake resident with COVID-19 symptoms who attended the Millennium Tour concert at PNC Arena on March 13 tested positive for the coronavirus, The News & Observer reported.
Wake publicized the information, asking people who attended the show or worked at PNC Arena to call the county information line.
If there’s an outbreak at a protest, the county may have to use that strategy again, Kippes said.
“It’s not our go-to or our favorite strategy,” he said. “We like to have a little more precision in our contact tracing efforts.”
At the news conference, Cohen said she has not seen any increase in cases that can be traced to one event, but has seen slow increases in locations throughout the state.
The News & Observer is keeping separate track of coronavirus cases and deaths, based on DHHS data and county reports. The N&O count tends to be higher, because DHHS reports only once a day. The N&O has counted 29,398 total cases and 944 deaths.
DHHS reported that 18,860 people are presumed recovered from the coronavirus. The estimate presumes a recovery time of 14 days for people who were not hospitalized, and 28 days for people admitted to hospitals. The state releases a report on presumed recoveries on Mondays.
Wake County opens testing site
Wake County opened a drive-thru coronavirus testing center Monday for people who are at-risk of contracting the virus.
The center is at the Wake County Commons Building, 4011 Carya Drive in Raleigh, off of Poole Road just east of the Beltline.
The testing site will be open from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. through Thursday, June 4, according to a news release.
Testing is free, but participants need to sign up for a time slot and register to be able to get a drive-thru test.
“Testing residents in our community is vital to understanding how the virus is spreading, so we can continue responding appropriately,” Kippes, said in the release. “Our focus on at-risk and frontline workers will help fill the gap for populations who may not have access to testing elsewhere or who have a higher chance of becoming infected.”
Congregate care outbreak in Cary
Wake County on Monday reported an outbreak at HeartFields, an assisted living and memory care facility in Cary. A long-term care facility outbreak is defined as two or more people. Wake County did not say how many residents there tested positive for the coronavirus.
The coronavirus can spread easily through congregate living facilities, and people 65 and older at higher risk of death from COVID-19. Nursing home residents account for more than half the state’s COVID-19 deaths.
This story was originally published June 1, 2020 at 1:08 PM with the headline "Coronavirus cases in NC rise with new concerns about the virus spreading at protests."