No Decision On School Openings As NC Sees Record COVID-19 Jump

NORTH CAROLINA — Students and parents will know "within the next couple of weeks" how schools will reopen in August, Gov. Roy Cooper said Wednesday. The delay in announcing a decision about North Carolina public schools, which was initially expected this week, comes as the state recorded 1,843 new coronavirus cases — the highest day-over-day increase in the state yet.

"Let me be clear: We want our schools open for in-person instruction in August," Cooper said at a news conference.

Last month, state public health officials unveiled new guidance for schools, outlining possible scenarios for how classed could resume in the upcoming academic school year. Under the new interim guidance released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, K-12 public schools are preparing for three possible scenarios: resuming with minimum social distancing, resuming with moderate social distancing or resuming with remote learning only.

The delay in announcing which of the three scenarios would be implemented when the new school year begins next month is due to state officials "working to get more buy-in from teachers and people on the ground," Cooper said.

"A lot of teachers are concerned about going back to school and doing it in safe way," he said.

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Cooper said he encouraged school officials to continue planning, with a special focus on how teachers, staff, and students can best be protected – especially those who are high-risk.

In an effort to help schools prepare, North Carolina Emergency Management is delivering to each school district and charter school in the state a two-month supply of thermometers, face shield, gowns and surgical masks.

"We’ve also given school districts access to statewide contracts so they can more easily purchase for their staff and students other health and hygiene supplies like cloth face coverings and hand sanitizer," Cooper said.

"Of course its possible we won't have in-person school if the numbers are bad," Cooper said. "What we want to happen is for our numbers to stabilize," he said.

The nearly 1,900 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases reported Wednesday broke a record for the state, increasing the state's total number of confirmed cases to 66,513, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services said.

"We're almost getting numb to hearing these numbers, but they are big numbers of new cases that we're seeing every day," DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said.

The increases, however, are not "sky rocketing" like case numbers in Florida, Texas and Arizona, she said.

"It's a cautionary tale, that we have work to do here to continue to keep that virus level low," she said. "What it has shown me is how quickly things can change."

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As of Tuesday, 10 percent of all tests in North Carolina were positive. The World Health Organization recommends that governments have a percent positive rate of 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days before reopening.

Hospitalizations remained stable Wednesday, decreasing to 901 hospitalizations, seen less than reported Tuesday. At the same time, the death toll increased throughout the state with at least 30 lives lost to the virus since Tuesday, raising the total number of virus-related deaths to 1,373.

Hospital capacity remains available throughout the state, with about 79 percent of the state's intensive care unit beds listed as occupied. That's according to a DHHS survey of about 86 percent of the state's hospitals, which also showed 75 percent of inpatient hospital beds were occupied Wednesday. Ventilator readiness remains stable with 25 percent of the state's supply reportedly in use.

Globally, more than 10.5 million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 512,000 people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Wednesday. In the United States, more than 2.6 million people have been infected and more than 127,000 people have died from COVID-19.