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“We don’t want to be left high and dry again" Labs are struggling to keep up with expanded COVID testing, frustrating politicians and consumers across the country. #COVID19NC #coronavirusnc northcarolinahealthnews.org/2…

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skilled nursing facility

shows several empty rocking chairs on a porch

Health facility visitation becomes a legislative flashpoint

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Health facility visitation becomes a legislative flashpoint - North Carolina Health News

Even as lawmakers pass bills to require hospitals to allow visitors, they got an earful on how senior living centers would prefer to keep those facilities closed to visitors.

By Rose Hoban On Wednesday, lawmakers gave impassioned speeches on the floor of the legislature about patients who have endured hospitalizations and even deaths alone, without someone at their side. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals, in an effort to reduce the number of people infected with the deadly virus, have restricted visitation for their patients. […]

Members of the Henderson County Rescue Squad enter the decontamination tent outside Cherry Springs Village, an assisted living facility. The squad assist staff remove PPE.

WNC strike team fights back as long-term care residents contract COVID-19

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WNC strike team fights back as long-term care residents contract COVID-19 - North Carolina Health News

Residents of a Hendersonville assisted living home started testing positive for COVID-19 in early April. A carefully assembled “strike team” gathered diverse forces to keep the disease under some level of control.

By Hannah Critchfield and Thomas Goldsmith The calls from Cherry Springs Village came at night. Assisted-living roommates Alicia Rodgers, 50, and Margaret Osteen, 66, were getting results on April 4 from a test for the novel coronavirus that had been taken two days earlier. The disease had infected both women, family members learned. And they […]

Alicia Rodgers, a 50-year-old resident at Cherry Springs Village assisted living facility, beams for a photo taken at a socially-distanced strike team member. Rodgers contracted COVID-19 in the early days of the outbreak at the facility.

As COVID-19 threatened western N.C., a new approach to fighting it in long-term care

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As COVID-19 threatened western N.C., a new approach to fighting it in long-term care - North Carolina Health News

When COVID-19 hit Henderson County, a newly coordinated “strike team” of medical professionals and others, from CNAs to hospice staff, formed to face the threat to endangered long-term care residents.

By Thomas Goldsmith and Hannah Critchfield Jan. 31: U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declares a domestic public health emergency. Late in February, Mark Shepherd kept trying to tell people that Henderson County was heading for hard days, for trouble and sickness caused by a new virus that would spread like mountain wildfire. […]

Shows a crowd of people looking at race cars in an outdoor venue

Coronavirus Today – June 9 – Action against Alamance speedway; contact tracing after the races; Governor to get tested

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Coronavirus Today – June 9 – Action against Alamance speedway; contact tracing after the races; Governor to get tested - North Carolina Health News

State takes action against Ace Speedway, saying the races and crowds put the public at ‘imminent risk.’

Alamance speedway ordered to close The Alamance County speedway that has held at least three races in defiance of Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order limiting crowd sizes during the coronavirus pandemic challenged the state to take action against it. Now the state has. On Tuesday, the state Department of Health and Human Services issued an […]

shows men working out in a crowded gym with many freeweights.

Coronavirus Today – June 4 – Racial equity task force; nursing home, prison numbers; Phase 2.5 for gyms, bars?

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Coronavirus Today – June 4 – Racial equity task force; nursing home, prison numbers; Phase 2.5 for gyms, bars? - North Carolina Health News

As George Floyd’s death renews outrage over institutional racism and long-standing inequities, Gov. Roy Cooper creates a new task force.

By North Carolina Health News staff Task force created to address COVID-19 impact on communities of color As the death of George Floyd under a Minneapolis police officer’s knee highlights systemic racism and inequities for people of color at all levels of society, Gov. Roy Cooper signed an executive order on Thursday to begin addressing […]

Shows a large indoor arena fulled with people. If the RNC comes to Charlotte, this venue could be filled with about 19,000 Republicans, possibly putting them at risk for COVID.

Coronavirus Today – June 2 – GOP convention and NC demands; Cooper shares Bible story for Trump; COVID graph day

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Coronavirus Today – June 2 – GOP convention and NC demands; Cooper shares Bible story for Trump; COVID graph day - North Carolina Health News

Gov. Roy Cooper and President Donald Trump have different ideas for staging a GOP National Convention in Charlotte.

By North Carolina Health News staff Cooper, Trump and the RNC Convention Gov. Roy Cooper was on the phone with President Donald Trump on Friday evening, having a back and forth about the president’s demands for a no-holds-barred Republican National Convention in Charlotte this summer, despite COVID-19. North Carolina public health officials report they’ve been […]

shows a facemask used to prevent COVID 19 transmission. It's blue with an outline of the state of North Carolina with the flag colors inside the outline

Coronavirus Today – May 19 – Heated Lincoln County debate; nod to older North Carolinians; Avery County gets first COVID case

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Coronavirus Today – May 19 – Heated Lincoln County debate; nod to older North Carolinians; Avery County gets first COVID case - North Carolina Health News

Pressures mount to reopen restaurants, salons and churches as governor contemplates moving to the next phase.

By North Carolina Health News staff Defiance in Lincoln County  A Lincoln County restaurant owner who also is a member of the county board of commissioners opened his restaurant in Vale on Monday in defiance of the governor’s statewide stay-at-home order. Carrol Dean Mitchem was cited by Sheriff Bill Beam for violating Gov. Roy Cooper’s […]

man in fatigues and a face mask stands in front of a sign reading: "patient intake" in a COVID-19 overflow centr

Shuttered hospital could get new life courtesy of COVID

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Shuttered hospital could get new life courtesy of COVID - North Carolina Health News

Rural Sandhills facility repurposed for non-coronavirus patients in the event of a surge.

By Rose Hoban The coronavirus pandemic has taken a toll on hospitals. Most hospitals lost millions in revenue when they stopped performing elective surgeries in mid-March, then spent millions gathering supplies and training staff to be ready for a potential surge in cases. But the pandemic may have the opposite effect on one shuttered rural […]

A group of Camp Hope campers prepare to set sail for the first time.

Coronavirus Today – May 15 – COVID testing guidance; too few Dare County test sites; camp guidance; rough surf warning

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Coronavirus Today – May 15 – COVID testing guidance; too few Dare County test sites; camp guidance; rough surf warning - North Carolina Health News

Testing, testing, testing. Getting access to the necessary COVID-19 tests has been a problem for Dare County and elsewhere in northeastern NC.

By North Carolina Health News staff Big testing-site gap in northeastern NC After the state Department of Health and Human Services compiled a list of sites across the state where people can get tested for COVID-19, there was a glaring gap in Dare County and much of northeastern North Carolina. “The northeast part of our […]

Man in a dark green shirt stands at a podium, he's talking about actions north Carolina is taking against the coronavirus, COVID-19. He's been working extensively with Gov. Roy Cooper and Sec. Mandy Cohen

Coronavirus Today – May 6 – Some businesses can reopen, while others wait; masks and summer camps

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Coronavirus Today – May 6 – Some businesses can reopen, while others wait; masks and summer camps - North Carolina Health News

State health officials are preparing North Carolinians for a partial re-opening this weekend. But they urge Tar Heels to go slow and remember the 3 Ws.

By North Carolina Health News staff Why some businesses, not others? Since Gov. Roy Cooper announced modifications to his stay-at-home order that go into effect Friday afternoon, Secretary of Health and Human Services Mandy Cohen has received many questions about why some retail businesses are allowed to open, but others such as nail salons, gyms […]

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