NC Coronavirus Update December 18: Wake County Public School System found 128 cases of COVID-19 last week

RAILWAY, NC – Here are the latest updates about the novel coronavirus disease, Covid-19, in North Carolina.

Questions about the COVID-19 vaccine? Send them to us here

Morning Storylines on Friday

From December 10 to December 16, 128 cases of COVID-19 were found in the Wake County Public School System. The virus was found in 69 students and 59 staff members. The cluster was registered at Lynn Road Elementary School in Raleigh.

The latest findings are the culmination of the December 3-9 stretch where 84 cases were found in the WCPS. More information about the district can be found here.

About six million doses of the Moderna vaccine are ready for shipping and FDA approval for emergency use approval is expected soon. Rural areas and nursing homes will get the vaccine first, as it does not require ultra-cold storage like the Pfizer vaccine.

Wakemade hospitals will begin administering the vaccine starting Friday morning. More than 200 employees will be vaccinated on Friday and more than 300 on Saturday.

Vice President Mike Pence is set to receive the Pfizer vaccine at 8 a.m. Friday

On Thursday, Governor Cooper said it was up to all North Carolinans to take the risks and risks on the frontlines. Cooper visited UNC Medical Center where frontline workers received the vaccine.

Cooper said, “We want them to do simple things like stay away socially by wearing masks and be responsible and smart for the way we behave.”

A drive-up COVID-19 testing clinic is taking place at Greater Wall Wall Town United Holy Church in Durham. The clinic is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and is sponsored by Central University of North Carolina.

Thursday

7:50 p.m.
The Moore County Health Department is reporting two new COVID-19 outbreaks between its long-term care facilities.

Health officials said 105 residents and seven staff members in Coventry tested positive for 105 Gosman Drive, Southern Pines COVID-19. In addition, Elmcroft at 101 Brucewood Road in Southern Pines has been tested positive for COVID-19 by two staff members and on-resident.

5:45 p.m.
Students are scheduled to return to school on a postponed schedule on Plan B from January, said Cumberland County School (CCS) Superintendent Dr. Marvin Kennel, Jr., two-week post-holiday incubation period.

“We realize that there are many factors to consider around this transition,” Drs. Said Kanel Nali. “We need to consider the medical metrics, staff and building readiness, student success through virtual learning, students who do not succeed in virtual learning, the impact of virtual learning on students’ social and emotional well-being, and the economic impact on families. Emotionally. Yes, the safety and well-being of students and staff is our number one priority. “

Actual rentry plans and procedures remain the same; However, dates have been set. The district’s updated re-entry schedule is based on metrics and other factors that administrators monitor.
3:36 p.M.
The Lee County Government Health Department said a county resident died as a result of COVD-19-related complications. This is the 38th confirmed COVID-19 in Lee County.

2:30 p.m.
According to a recent White House Coronavirus Task Force report obtained by ABC News, North Carolina is in the red zone for case and test positivity.

The states rank 35th in the country for the case and 31st for the test positivity, with 98% of all NC counties having a “medium or high level community transmission” and 60% having a high level of community transmission.

1:06 p.m.
The Halifax County Department of Health reported 2,424 total positive COVID 19 cases, including 23 new cases, on Thursday.

An additional death was reported, accounting for 44 – 1.8% of the county’s total.

1 p.m.

The number of hospital admissions to COVID-19 in North Carolina is much higher – it peaked at 2,800 on Thursday.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that 2,804 people have been hospitalized with COVID-19.

320 confirmed COVID-19 patients were admitted in the last 24 hours. 312 suspected patients were also admitted during that period.

North Carolina also surpassed 6,000 related to COVID-19 after the outbreak began Thursday. So far, a total of 6,065 reports have been received.

5,786 new cases were reported.

The percentage is positive 11.7 percent.

12:36 p.m.
Sampson County has reported 63 new cases of COVID-19. There were also 79 cases on Wednesday. There are a total of 4,569 positive cases in the county.

One death was reported on Thursday, bringing the total to 56 counties.

12 noon
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced that it has selected 17 school districts and 11 charter schools to participate in a pilot program to conduct Covid-19 rapid testing in K-12 public schools where any individual instruction is taking place.

The goal of the rapid testing program is to slow the spread of COVID-19 by quickly identifying students and staff who may be infected, especially after the holidays. Schools and districts selected for the program offer full-individual instruction (Plan A) or hybrid remote and individual instruction (Plan B).

The NCDHHSA sent rapid antigen tests to more than 50,000 federally funded selected districts and schools. As part of the pilot, students and staff will have access to about 200 school-based testing locations in 17 counties. Local health departments in each county participated in the application process and, in some cases, will assist in testing.
More information is available here.

10:10 a.m.
Wake County Pharmacy Director Dr. Jason Wittes expressed that the COVID-19 vaccine supply is low and has only been shipped in recent days. It is expected to occur months before adequate doses are produced for everyone who needs the vaccine.

In the first phase of the delivery process, the county will provide EMS vaccines, healthcare workers at risk of clinics and prisons, public health and adult and child protection services, who work with vulnerable people.

“We’re very close,” said Donald Gintzig, CEO of Wakemed. “This is the pull of the house. We don’t leave our guard, we sit down. We strongly encourage everyone to be wary of 3WS and take flu shots. The more vigilant we are, the better the weather will be together with winter.” “

WakeMed expects shipments around 3,900 doses on Thursday. Wakemade employees will begin vaccinations on Friday.

7:55 p.m.
Matt Cala Libria, chairman of the Wake County Board of Commissioners, will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. Thursday in Wake County to update on the growing number of Covid-19 cases and discuss vaccine distribution plans. The update will be streamed live on abc11.com.

The state considers Wake County to be an “orange level / significant” county that is a significant community of COVID-19.

7:15 p.m.
The United States again set a record for the number of deaths from COVID-19 on Wednesday.

Another 3,656 people have died from the virus, according to Johns Hopkins University. This is the fourth time since the outbreak that more than 3,000 people have died from the virus in a single day. A record 3,300 casualties were recorded on December 11.

In addition, 247,403 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in the United States on Wednesday – another record high. It is the 44th straight day that the USA has recorded more than 100,000 new infections. The previous single-day record was set at 111 December.

Since the outbreak began in March, U.S. About 17 million people have been diagnosed with COVID-19. During that time, the virus has killed more than 307,000 people.

Third Morning Storylines

The FDA plans to review Moderna’s COW-19 vaccine during a committee meeting Thursday morning. Voting for Emergency Use author is scheduled later in the afternoon.

If authorized it would be the second vaccine available for widespread use in the United States.

Governorate is ready to send six million doses with Roy Cooper’s plan to get 175,000 doses for North Carolina. The research partner and scientific lead at the National Institutes of Health, a woman from Orange County, Dr. Kizmakia Corbett is the chief scientist responsible for creating the modern vaccine.

See also | Here is a list of how Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are compared

Wakemade is expected to receive the first shipment of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine on Thursday and frontline workers will receive their vaccine from Friday. Wakemade hospitals will receive a total of 3,900 doses of the vaccine. Durham VA will begin giving shots on Thursday, and Duke Health plans to vaccinate 400 more staff members.

A church Covid-19 has erupted in Hendersonville. The First Baptist Church suspended church activities for 30 days after the Christmas celebrations, with 72 Kovid-19 cases believed to have occurred.

The Duke women’s basketball team has suspended all team activities after two positive COVID-19 tests. Duke’s game against NC State has been postponed this weekend.

The Federal Bureau of Prisons says correctional officers and health care workers will get vaccinated before inmates. The first shipment of the vaccine to federal prisons arrived Wednesday.