in the orange zone, signaling “substantial” levels of community spread, according to the statewide Covid-19
County Alert System. Meanwhile, Pender County moved from orange to the “critical” red zone due to its alarming high case and percent positivity rates.
However, the impact on the hospitals in all three counties is considered low, according to the report. The alert system considers a variety of factors at hospitals, from staffing shortages to the number of emergency room visits, as well as the counties’ number of new cases and the percent positivity rates when making designations.
As Covid-19 numbers have picked up in the midst of colder months and increasingly common gatherings over the holidays, just eight of North Carolina’s 100 counties remain in the yellow zone, the lowest level of spread in the three-tier reporting system.
Prices up
Web Bostic, who works for local janitorial supply company, Croaker, in Castle Hayne, continues to witness the supply-and-demand chain wax and wane, from March and April’s panic-buying spree to leveling out in the fall. Though hand sanitizer and toilet paper seem to be back in the green, gloves and disinfectant wipes are a different story. Name brands like Lysol and Clorox continue to be sought after and in short supply, as are latex, nitrile and vinyl gloves which are widely used in healthcare and food industries.
“Disposable glove prices have gone up 300% and are on allocation from the manufacturer,” Bostic relayed. “To help with the shortage, a newer type of hybrid vinyl glove has been produced by the manufacturers.”
Panza Allen McNeill receives New Hanover County’s first dose of the Moderna vaccine Tuesday afternoon. (Port City Daily photo/Courtesy New Hanover County)
NEW HANOVER COUNTY Panza Allen McNeill, a 19-year New Hanover County Public Health nurse, received the first dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine in the county Tuesday afternoon.
The county administered its first doses of the Moderna vaccine to frontline health workers Tuesday who interact with Covid-19 patients as part of their daily job.
“The Covid-19 pandemic continues to be the fight of our lives, but the arrival of the vaccine gives a glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel,” Allen McNeill said in a county press
Updated December 23, 2020 7:42 a.m. EST
By Laura Leslie, WRAL Capitol Bureau chief
Morrisville, N.C. Despite the rising number of coronavirus cases and the pleas of public health leaders, many North Carolinians are traveling this week.
Early Wednesday morning, two days before Christmas, Raleigh-Durham International Airport was already busy. RDU is anticipating about 104,200 travelers for Christmas week, or about one-third the number who traveled through the airport last year.
The busiest travel days are projected to be the two Sundays after Christmas Dec. 27 and Jan. 3 with more than 18,400 travelers expected each day.
On Tuesday, Gov. Roy Cooper urged North Carolinians not to travel as COVID-19 hospitalizations in the state reach record numbers. When WRAL News asked Cooper if travel restrictions are coming, he said he hopes the restrictions already in place will help avoid that.
Submitted by BlueNC on
Tue, 12/22/2020 - 09:33
NC TO RECEIVE $700 MILLION IN RENTAL ASSISTANCE FROM STIMULUS: North Carolina could get nearly $700 million from the $25 billion in rental assistance included in the new COVID-19 relief bill that congressional leaders agreed on over the weekend. Part of the estimated $700 million will go to cities in the state with 200,000 or more people. The rest will go to the state government to disburse to more rural parts of North Carolina. Ninety percent of the estimated $700 million
must be used for tenants’ past unpaid rent, future rent and utility payments. Payments can be made to the landlord or utility company if the state or municipality chooses to do so. If a landlord refuses the assistance, the money can be sent to the tenant to pay the landlord. Landlords can apply for the assistance on their tenant’s behalf, but the tenant must also sign the application and the funds must be used to pay the tenant’s rent.