Students who didn’t get tested for Covid-19 prior to returning to UNCW were asked to report to the Burney Center, where a long line had formed Tuesday of students seeking rapid tests. (Port City Daily/Preston Lennon)
WILMINGTON Hundreds of students waited outside the UNCW Burney Center Tuesday, wrapped in a line that spanned multiple blocks. They were all on standby for a Covid-19 rapid test that would allow them to move into residence halls and attend on-campus classes.
In a parking lot on the edge of campus, other students with negative Covid-19 test results already in tow were ferried through a checkpoint. After showing printed test results to staff, the students were given a green wristband to wear until Jan. 22 that verifies they tested negative for the virus.
N.C. changed its vaccination plan so individuals ages 65 and older can get the Moderna or Pfizer series of shots. NHC will fall in line with the new order once it gets through all Friday appointments and receives another shipment of vaccines. (Port City Daily/File)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY New Hanover County Health and Human Services confirmed it will fall in line with the state’s updated vaccination plan to now serve individuals 65 years and older. First, the county must work through its limited supply of vaccines to fulfill current appointments for patients 75 and older through Friday.
County officials confirmed the change will make an additional 37,000 people eligible for the vaccine in New Hanover County.
COVID-19 deaths continue to rise as New Hanover County broke the threshold of 100 deaths.
“100 deaths from COVID-19 in New Hanover County is 100 too many,” New Hanover County Assistant Health Director Carla Turner said. “And losing our neighbors, parents, grandparents, family, and loved ones is a huge loss for our community.”
New Hanover County is considered to be “red” in the latest COVID-19 County Alert System by the health department, meaning the county has critical levels of viral spread, according to a recent press release.
Turner said New Hanover continues to see case counts increase and the numbers will continue to rise due to lack of widespread public commitment to wearing face coverings, avoiding gatherings, maintaining physical distance from others, and frequent handwashing.
Residents 75-years-old and older can once again start making appointments to receive the COVID-19 vaccine after receiving an additional supply from the state.
Folks line up at New Hanover County Health and Human Services to get the Covid-19 vaccination. (Port City Daily/Shea Carver)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY â Since the Covid-19 vaccine rollout began in New Hanover County, questions keep rising from the public on where to go to get the vaccine and when â not to mention what to bring, how to get an appointment, who will administer it, and what to expect overall.
What we know so far is that New Hanover County’s vaccination program could take up to nine months to complete. Multiple variables play into the mass distribution of the vaccines â from the supply rolling into the states from the federal government to how many vaccinators need to be in place as phases progress across each county in North Carolina.