BREAKING: Stay-at-home order extended, school decision tomorrow

Today is Thursday, April 23, 2020, and we’re coming to you with HOT BREAKING NEWS.

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-Governor extends stay-at-home order to May 8 while announcing 3-part plan to reopen

-Decision on whether to open NC schools coming Friday afternoon

-Novant to resume non-essential surgeries May 4

By Cristina Bolling

North Carolina’s stay-at-home order has been extended to May 8 and a decision is coming tomorrow on whether the state’s public schools will reopen this school year, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper announced Thursday.

Cooper outlined a three-part plan to lift restrictions that would be based on several factors. Those are: seeing a downward trend in the percentage of positive covid-19 tests over total tests, a decline in the trajectory of hospitalizations, and the increased ability to test, contact trace and supply enough protective gear for medical workers.

Cooper’s original stay-at-home executive order was set to expire April 29.

The plan: Once it is lifted, Cooper outlined how the state would gradually begin to return to normal. The first phase would allow additional retailers and parks to open, provided they can maintain social distancing requirements. Teleworking would continue to be encouraged. Face masks would still be recommended in public, and current restrictions in nursing and retirement homes would stay in place.

Then, two to three weeks later, the “stay at home” order would be lifted and bars and restaurants could start to open, but vulnerable populations would be encouraged to stay home. There would be an increase in the allowed size of gatherings and public playgrounds would be open.

A third phase four to six weeks later would allow increased capacity at bars and restaurants and mass gatherings of more people like churches and theaters.

If the data shows a spike in cases, officials could re-impose restrictions from an earlier phase, Cooper said.

More testing, curve flattening: Thursday saw 388 new cases, the second-highest number of day-over-day new cases reported since the coronavirus pandemic began.

“It’s clear that we are flattening the curve, but our state is not ready to lift restrictions yet,” Cooper said. “We need more time to slow the spread of the virus before we can begin easing those restrictions.”

Department of Health and Human Services secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen thoroughly ran through all kinds of available data – hospitalizations, new daily cases, percentages of positive tests – and showed how the numbers seem to be leveling but not yet declining. She said the state wants to see more progress before lifting some of the restrictions.

More testing: Cohen said the state had been averaging 2,500 to 3,000 covid-19 tests per day, but that number has increased to 5,000 to 7,000 tests per day in the last two days.

So while the number of positive cases has risen, Cohen said the percentage of tests coming back positive is going down. “It’s an early good sign,” she said.

She said the state wants to increase from 250 to 500 the number of “contact tracers” — people who identify those who have come into contact with covid-19 patients. And she said the state doesn’t have enough of some types of protective gear. Currently, the state has less than a 30 day supply of gowns and N95 masks, she said.

“We have not seen a peak, we have not seen our healthcare system be overrun. That’s a good thing,” Cohen said. “We may see a sustained leveling … that will also allow us to move forward with this reopening. We need to see that over a period of time to make sure that we are heading in the right direction and something is not going to sneak up on us.”

The number of North Carolinians hospitalized with coronavirus hit an all-time high on Thursday, at 486. The growth in the last three weeks has been uneven. (Source: N.C. Department of Health and Human Services)

Other big news happening Thursday:

Novant to resume some nonessential surgeries: As reported in the Ledger earlier today, Novant Health plans to resume those surgeries May 4. It also plans loosen some restrictions on non-urgent outpatient visits and procedures.

No grades this year: The N.C. Board of Education approved a policy Thursday morning that would give no grades to K-5 students, and would give students in grades 6-8 a “pass” or “withdraw” grade for the 2019-2020 school year, WFAE reported.

High school students have four choices when it comes to grades: They can take the grade they had as of March 13, when schools closed, work to improve a grade through virtual learning, take a “pass” grade, which gives them credit but doesn’t affect the GPA, or take a “withdraw” grade, which doesn’t give credit but doesn’t drive down the GPA.

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The Charlotte Ledger is an e-newsletter and web site publishing timely, informative, and interesting local business news and analysis Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, except holidays and as noted. We strive for fairness and accuracy and will correct all known errors. The content reflects the independent editorial judgment of The Charlotte Ledger. Any advertising, paid marketing, or sponsored content will be clearly labeled.

Executive editor: Tony Mecia; Managing editor: Cristina Bolling; Contributing editor: Tim Whitmire; Reporting intern: David Griffith