NC Coronavirus Update Nov 25: North Carolina Mask Mandate Begins 5 p.m. Wednesday

RALEIGH, NC – Here are the latest updates on COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, in North Carolina.

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5 p.m.
Sanford Mayor Chet Mann issued an emergency declaration to strengthen Governor Cooper’s executive orders requiring the use of face masks by people in North Carolina and reducing occupancy limits for most indoor activities.

Decrees 176 and 180 prescribe face coverings in public and indoors in the presence of members who do not belong to the household. It reduces mass gathering limits for indoor spaces of 25 to 10 people.

The declaration for the City of Sanford takes effect at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, November 25, 2020 and will remain in effect until amended or rescinded by Mayor Mann.

“This enhanced state of emergency does not include additional regulations,” said Mayor Mann. “This is an effort to strengthen existing regulations, allowing the city manager to deploy employees as needed.”

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3 p.m.
Wake County Public Health has confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 at HeartFields in Cary, a home and memory care facility located at 1050 Crescent Green in Cary.

This is the second confirmed outbreak at this location.

2:50 p.m.
The North Carolina Department of Public Safety has announced that the Prisons Directorate is consolidating some of its operations to help mitigate the COVID-19 outbreak in North Carolina and its impact on the prison system.

As a result, the following actions have been taken:
Operations were temporarily suspended at Randolph Correctional Center in Asheboro on November 22, and staff were temporarily reassigned to other prisons in the area.
Operations were temporarily suspended on November 20 at the Southern Correctional Facility’s minimum detention unit, allowing staff to better assist in other sections of the Trojan prison.
Operations were temporarily put on hold at the Piedmont Correctional Facility’s Minimum Detention Unit, located in Salisbury, on November 25 so that staff could assist with the prison complex’s medium detention facility.

Affected offenders were transferred to other penitentiary establishments of appropriate levels of detention.

“These prison consolidation actions were necessary due to outbreaks of COVID-19 in offender populations in a number of state prisons and the need for additional staff in prisons dealing with viral outbreaks,” the department said. in a press release.

11:50 a.m.
North Carolina on Wednesday hit another record high number of COVID-19-related hospitalizations with 1,811. Tuesday’s hospitalizations were also a new record.

247 new patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been admitted to hospitals in the past 24 hours. 306 people suspected of cases were also admitted.

69 percent of newly admitted patients are over 60, 8 percent are under 39.

As of Wednesday morning, there were 431 adults in the state’s intensive care units battling COVID-19.

More than 4,000 new cases have also been reported in the state, which is only the third time since the start of the pandemic.

A total of 4,212 new cases were reported on Wednesday.

The percentage of positive tests is currently 7.3%.

WEDNESDAY MORNING STORY LINES

The state’s new mask mandate begins at 5 p.m. Wednesday, requiring masks in all indoor public places. The most notable revisions include restaurants that require patrons to wear a mask when seated and gym goers must keep their masks on when working out.

There were fewer travelers than usual at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Wednesday morning before Thanksgiving.

The Centers for Disease Control has advised against traveling and joining large gatherings for the holidays. While this may reduce some seasonal travel, it is not universally respected. The Transportation Safety Administration said Monday it examined more than 2 million people over the weekend before Thanksgiving.

Free COVID-19 testing is offered Wednesday at the Smithfield Men’s Progressive Club on Old Goldsboro Road in Smithfield from 9 a.m. to noon. You don’t need an appointment or have any symptoms to get tested.

TUESDAY

1:00 p.m.
The daily positive rate of COVID-19 remained at 6% with new figures released Tuesday by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The state has reported 3,100 new cases of COVID-19 and 35 more deaths. Since the start of the pandemic, COVID-19 has killed at least 5,074 people in North Carolina.

North Carolina reached a record number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 on Tuesday – with 1,724.

In the past 24 hours, 194 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been admitted to state hospitals. 221 people with suspected cases were also admitted.

Of the newly admitted patients, 69% were over 60 years old.

11:00
ABC News obtained the most recent weekly weekly briefing from the White House Coronavirus Task Force for Governors, dated November 22. highest rate in the country.
North Carolina is in the orange zone for test positivity, reporting a rate between 8.0% and 10.0%, with the 36th highest rate in the country.

North Carolina has seen an increase in new cases and an increase in test positivity. North Carolina has seen increased case rates in 97 counties
and an increase in test positivity in 66 counties; the increase in test positivity appears to be accelerating in most counties, especially in the
more rural and less populated counties.

The following counties are in the red zone of the White House report: Forsyth, Gaston, Cumberland, Catawba, Cabarrus, Onslow, Randolph, Davidson, Rowan, Robeson, Columbus, Nash.

TUESDAY MORNING STORY LINES

North Carolinians are digesting the rules behind a stricter face coverage mandate that goes into effect Wednesday. The state is trying to reverse the huge spike in COVID-19 cases as we enter the holiday season.

The new guidelines say masks should be worn at all times indoors in public places. Those who exercise in gyms will now need to wear masks when training. In restaurants, masks must be worn at all times, except when eating or drinking. Previously, masks were only to be worn if it was not possible to keep a distance of six feet from other people.

“Our actions will determine the fate of many,” Governor Roy Cooper said Monday. “Today’s executive order will tighten that mandate even further, making it clear that everyone must wear a mask whenever you are with someone you don’t live with.

North Carolina is one of many states to tighten restrictions on COVID-19. Nevada Gov. Steve Sisolak tightened restrictions on casinos, restaurants and private gatherings starting Tuesday. Most counties in California are under a curfew, and Los Angeles County officials will ban in-person meals for at least three weeks.

Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts warned Monday he could impose tighter social distancing restrictions before Thanksgiving if hospitalizations continue to rise.