NC coronavirus update March 19: COVID 19 vaccinations and tests are back on schedule Friday after a weather delay

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

11:45 am
Friday’s NCDHHS report included 1,915 newly reported COVID-19 cases. 970 people are currently hospitalized; 25 less than yesterday.

The daily percentage positive rate was 4.0%.

Another 22 deaths were reported today. Unfortunately, 11,805 people have died since the start of the pandemic.

10:45 am
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has made it official: schools are now being asked to allow 3 feet distance between students and staff in primary schools.

The lead comes after a study found that there was no noticeable difference in COVID-19 infection rates among young children who were properly wearing masks that stood 3- or 6-feet apart.

The recommendation applies even in communities where COVID-19 transmission is high, according to a CDC statement issued Friday. Middle schools and high schools in high-transfer communities are still being asked to stay 6 meters apart.

05:40
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention can announce a change to their COVID-19 school counseling.

The agency is apparently considering reducing the recommended space between students from 6 feet to 3 feet. This decision can already take place on Friday.

New evidence that it is safe for schools to put students at a distance of 3 meters – half the previous recommended distance, could provide a way to return more of the children of the country to classrooms with limited space.

Although more teachers received vaccinations against COVID-19, social distance guidelines remained a major obstacle for U.S. districts. The debate surrounding the issue flared up last week when a study suggested that masked students could sit as far as 3 feet apart without being raised. risk to them or teachers.

Published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, the research looked at schools in Massachusetts that support the 3-foot guideline for months. Illinois and Indiana also allow 3 feet distance, and other states like Oregon are also considering doing so.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also investigating the idea. The director of the agency, dr. Rochelle Walensky, said the 6-foot guideline is “one of the biggest challenges” that schools have reopened.

The CDC included the larger spacing in its latest school guidelines, issued in February and concluded that schools could operate safely with masks, distance and other precautions during the pandemic. It suggested 6 feet and said that physical distance ‘should be as large as possible’.

Other organizations have issued more relaxed guidelines, including the World Health Organization, which insists 1 meter in schools. The American Academy of Pediatrics tells space banks “3 feet apart and ideally 6 feet apart.”

FRIDAY MORNING CUPS

Vaccinations for vaccines will resume on Friday after they were postponed on Thursday due to the threat of severe weather.

Wake County vaccination sites today are increasing their capacity to make room for the people who had to be vaccinated yesterday.

If you had an appointment on Thursday, it will take place at the same time and Friday. If you had an appointment on Friday, nothing has changed.

That means Wake County websites today have to hand out double the amount of vaccinations.

COVID-19 testing was also canceled on Thursday, but normal testing hours will resume on Friday.

THURSDAY
17:24
Governor Cooper will see vaccinations at the Vidant / Pitt large-scale vaccine clinic in Greenville on Friday, his office announced.

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With the closure of US President Joe Biden’s goal of injecting 100 million coronavirus vaccines weeks before its target date, officials say the country is now able to provide shots to neighboring Canada and Mexico.

The Biden government has announced the outlines of a plan to “lend” vaccines to Canada and Mexico, as the president announced that the US is about to inject 100 million doses to Americans – far ahead of its goal of to reach the norm within his first 100 days in office.

Biden has announced that the US will reach $ 100 million on Friday, the 58th day of its government.

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The US is finalizing plans to ship a total of 4 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine to Mexico and Canada during the first export of shots.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki says Biden’s government plans to send 2.5 million doses to Mexico and 1.5 million to Canada as a ‘loan’.

The AstraZeneca vaccine has not been approved for use in the US, but has been approved by the World Health Organization. The Prime Minister of Ontario, Doug Ford, thanks Biden for his willingness to share the vaccines.

Canadian regulators have approved the vaccines Pfizer, Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson, but it is difficult to obtain them. Canada is about 20th in the number of doses administered, with about 8% of the adult population receiving at least one shot. This compares with around 38% in the UK and 22% in the US

Mexico has completely vaccinated more than 600,000 people and more than 4 million have received a single dose in a country of 126 million.

12:08 pm
The Halifax County Department of Health reports seven new cases for a total of 5,084 positive COVID 19 cases. There were 102 deaths – 2.0% of the total cases.

Halifax County also gives COVID-19 vaccines until 4:30 pm at the Griffin Center on the campus of Halifax Community College 200 College Drive in Weldon.

Vaccinations are available for everyone 18 and older, no appointment required. Please arrive at the top of the hour or half hour.

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Thursday’s report from the NCDHHS included 2,004 COVID-19 cases recently reported. 995 people were admitted to hospital; 7 fewer people than yesterday.

The daily percentage positive rate was 3.9%.

Unfortunately, 11,783 people have died since the start of the pandemic.

11:30 am
CVS Health will begin launching eight additional CVS drugstores in North Carolina on Sunday, March 21, to administer vaccines to eligible individuals. Appointments for the latest dose allotment will be available for booking on Friday, March 19, as stores receive vaccines.

Patients must pre-register at CVS.com or via the CVS Pharmacy app, and people without online access can contact CVS Customer Service: (800) 746-7287. Walk-in vaccinations without an appointment are not provided.

10 a.m.
Walgreens says he is aware of a technical flaw with the scheduler where some patients receive confirmation numbers for appointments that have not actually been added to the pharmacy’s vaccination schedule.

“This issue has since been resolved,” a spokesman said in a statement. “We are committed to adhering to the vaccinations made in our system and we work with all affected patients to reschedule their appointments. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

9 a.m.
Health experts believe that the increase in coronavirus cases in Europe should be a warning to the US not to abandon their guarantees too soon.

Optimism spreads in the US as virus deaths decline and states ease restrictions.

But across Europe, stricter restrictions are coming back amid a surge in cases involving some hospitals.

The divergent paths of the pandemic on the two continents can be linked to the more successful vaccination of vaccines in the US and a wave of more transmissible variants in Europe. Health experts add that some areas in Europe were also too fast to relax the requirement for distance.

THURSDAY MORNING STORYLINES
During a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Roy Cooper and DHHS Secretary, Dr. Mandy Cohen, both said they expect all adult North Caroliners to be eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, in line with President Joe Biden’s promise earlier this week.

Many vaccination and COVID-19 test areas in North Carolina on Thursday made changes to the schedules due to the expected heavy weather.

Thursday afternoon on ABC11 Government Cooper appears on GMA3: What you need to know. He will discuss the State’s HOPE program – which helps cover housing and prevent evictions.

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose to 770,000 last week, a sign that redundancies remain high, even as the U.S. economy gradually recovers from the resonance in the coronavirus.

The Labor Department’s report on Thursday showed that jobless claims had risen from 725,000 the previous week.

The numbers have fallen sharply since the depths of the recession last spring, but it still shows that employers in some industries are still laying off workers. Before the pandemic took place, the number of applications for unemployment benefits in no week exceeded 700,000.

The average four-week claim, which facilitates weekly variations, has dropped to 746,000, the lowest since late November.

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