Statewide restrictions may ease next week; Gov. Cooper urges North Carolinians to stay vigilant

April 30, 2020 | Local News

At a Thursday afternoon press conference, Governor Roy Cooper and NC DHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen shared an update on where North Carolina stands in the fight against COVID-19, and urged North Carolinians not to let their guard down.

“North Carolinians have made tremendous sacrifices and it is making a difference,” said Governor Cooper. “We remain hopeful that the trends will be stable enough to move into Phase 1 next week.”

“We need keep up the actions that will slow the spread of the virus. The good news is that we know we can do this. If we stay home now to protect our loved ones and our communities, we can put ourselves on a path to begin easing restrictions and moving forward as planned,” said Dr. Cohen.

As of today, North Carolina has 10,509 lab-confirmed cases, 546 people in the hospital, and 378 deaths due to COVID-19.

Governor Cooper and Secretary Cohen updated on where North Carolina stands on the following key metrics:

Sustained Leveling or Decreased Trajectory in COVID-Like Illness (CLI) Surveillance Over 14 Days: Currently, North Carolina’s syndromic surveillance trend for COVID-like illness is level over past 14 days, but has been on an uptick over the past seven days.
Sustained Leveling or Decreased Trajectory of Lab-Confirmed Cases Over 14 Days: Currently, North Carolina’s trajectory of lab-confirmed cases over the last 14 days cases is still increasing.
Sustained Leveling or Decreased Trajectory in Percent of Tests Returning Positive Over 14 Days: Currently, North Carolina’s trajectory in percent of tests returning positive over the last 14 days is decreasing.
Sustained Leveling or Decreased Trajectory in Hospitalizations Over 14 Days: Currently, North Carolina’s trajectory of hospitalizations over the last 14 days is largely level.

In addition to these metrics, the state continues building capacity to be able to adequately respond to an increase in virus spread. These areas include:

Increase in Laboratory Testing
North Carolina has surpassed 4,000 tests for the last 6 of 9 days with 6,000 tests reported yesterday.
Increase in Tracing Capability
NC DHHS announced the Carolina Community Tracing Collaborative, a new partnership with Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) and the North Carolina Area Health Education Centers (NC AHEC) to double the state’s current contact tracing capabilities. The Collaborative has started recruiting for these positions.
Availability of Personal Protective Equipment
The state has a 30-day supply of most personal protective equipment, except for gowns and N95 masks.

“We need everyone to continue following the Stay At Home order right now so that we can move to the next phases of easing restrictions. Complacency could risk lives and undo these plans,” added Governor Cooper.