All in Coronavirus
The Lenoir County Health Department has received notification of Lenoir County’s first lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 case. The individual was tested on March 17 and confirmation of a positive was received by Lenoir County Health Department on Tuesday, March 24.
As of 9:45 a.m., March 24, 2020, NCDHHS has reported 398 confirmed cases (up from 184 on Saturday, March 21) and 0 deaths. Lenoir, Greene and Jones Counties still have 0 reported cases.
Yesterday’s announcement prioritized social distancing by lowering the threshold on large gatherings to ban crowds of more than 50 people. To stay consistent with this number, it will require certain businesses to close, including:
Bingo Parlors, including Bingo sites operated by charitable organizations
Bowling Alleys
Indoor Exercise Facilities (e.g. gyms, yoga studios, martial arts facilities, indoor trampoline and rock-climbing facilities)
Health Clubs
Indoor Pools
Live Performance Venues
Movie Theaters
Skating Rinks
Spas
Sweepstakes Lounges
Video game arcades
Barber Shops
Beauty Salons (including waxing and hair removal centers)
Hair Salons
Nail Salons/Manicure/Pedicure Providers
Massage Parlors
Tattoo Parlors
Grocery stores and restaurants providing takeout and delivery will remain open.
Watch NC Senator Jim Perry join Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy for a Facebook Live Coronavirus Chat. They discussed unemployment benefits, small business assistance, the federal government’s financial response and what the State of NC is doing.
North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) Commissioner Que Tucker released the following statement, “Having heard the updated information relative to schools remaining closed until the middle of May, NCHSAA interscholastic athletics will remain suspended until at least May 18.”
Due to the spread of coronavirus / COVID-19 in North Carolina, UNC Lenoir Health Care announced today, in an effort to prevent patient and staff exposure to the spreading coronavirus, it is no longer permitting visitors to the inpatient areas until further notice. In addition, the number of entrances at the hospital will be limited. Any visitors under 18 years old are still not allowed and visitors older than 65, pregnant or are immunocompromised are strongly encouraged to not visit.
In a press conference today, Governor Roy Cooper stated, “During the Great Depression, North Carolina’s leaders made sure that, because education was vital to our state’s future, all of our public schools stayed open in spite of tremendous funding challenges. Therefore, today I will sign an executive order that closes public K-12 schools across North Carolina for in-person instruction until May 15.”
BBQ Fest Committee Chair Waylon Adams announced the decision this afternoon. Adams said, “With the health and safety of our eastern North Carolina community top of our minds, combined with the guidelines of local, state and national health professionals, the BBQ Festival on the Neuse Board has decided to cancel the 2020 BBQ Festival on the Neuse due to the Coronavirus threat.”
Beginning Monday, Lenoir County Public Schools is expanding its no-cost feeding program to include delivery of meals by school bus to numerous locations throughout the county.
LCPS will also continue to operate its five locations where eligible youth can pick up meals. Those sites – at Kinston, North Lenoir and South Lenoir high schools, Southeast Elementary School and E.B. Frink Middle School – are open from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. weekdays. No dine-in service is allowed.
Dr. Pradeep and Neuse News Publisher BJ Murphy held a Facebook Live Coronavirus Chat on Sunday, 3/22 at 4:00 pm. Dr. Pradeep gave a COVID-19 update and answered questions posted in the comments feed. Watch the interview in its entirety.
Vidant Health and the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University are calling on all of eastern North Carolina to do their part to flatten the curve. We need to act quickly and definitively. When you watch what is happening in other communities and are scared about what you see, you should ask yourself a few questions: Will it hit my own community? Why can’t we stop this? What should we do? These are difficult questions, but the answers are clear.
Governor Roy Cooper has waived restrictions to increase access to caregivers to provide flexible child care and elder care during the coronavirus emergency. The Order provides flexibility to local health departments working to adapt to the increased need for their resources.
Additionally, it provides for ways for Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices to enact social distancing protections, and waives some registration requirements to ensure resources can be delivered by truck throughout the state.
Representative Chris Humphrey (R-Lenoir, Pitt) has been appointed to the Economic Support Working Group of the North Carolina House Select Committee on Covid-19 by Speaker Tim Moore. The committee will meet remotely to prepare immediate and long-term legislative responses to the developing crisis.
Under the State of Emergency, the ultimate goal of all the executive orders, requests and other rules has been to reduce exposure of all people to this virus. In our line of work it is hard to limit exposure, but there are some things that we can do to limit our exposure during this time. Therefore, the Sheriff's Office has implementing the following changes in accordance with County of Lenoir decisions:
An update from Dr. Bert Bright: In the interest of safety and after consultation with many authorities, we have decided to keep our campus closed and continue online instruction through April 17, 2020. All school-related activities and ceremonies that were planned from March 16 through April 17 have been canceled, including Terra Nova testing and our prom. (Given the stated importance of the prom to our students, if we return to school later this spring we will consider rescheduling a modified prom event.)
We are all hearing new, terrible rumors every day. You should probably assume that the rumors will be grow in their audacity and there will be at least one a day.
Effective 5 p.m. Friday, March 20
Due to the spread of COVID-19 in eastern North Carolina, Vidant is prohibiting visitors across all hospitals and emergency departments.
In an email to its students, Lenoir Community College has made the following changes:
Public Service Announcement: Casey Stevens with the American Red Cross issues a plea for blood drive locations as they're experiencing a shortage due to COVID-19. If you'd like to help, please contact her at Casey.Stevens@redcross.org.
Jones County is officially under a State of Emergency as of 7:00 am today, Friday, March 20, 2020.
