COVID-19 Updates: May, 7 2020
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Orange County Health Department Press Release |
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MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager and Public Information Officer
kprelipp@orangecountync.gov or 919-245-2462
LINK TO MEDIA RELEASE
Orange County to Begin Phased-in Lifting of Restrictions at 5 p.m. May 8
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. May 6, 2020 ? Orange County, North Carolina’s Stay at Home Order will end on May 8, 2020. Thereafter, the County will fall under the state order. According to Governor Cooper, restrictions will be lifted in three phases, with the first phase beginning at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 8. The state of emergency for Orange County, Carrboro, Chapel Hill, and Hillsborough will be extended.
Residents have been following stay-at-home orders in place since March 27 to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Through 5 p.m. May 8, the orders permit leaving home only for essential needs, such as food, medicine, outdoor exercise and to provide help to a loved one.
The governor’s new executive order continues stay-at-home guidance with some modifications. In the first phase of reopening, people will be allowed to leave home for commercial activity and more businesses will be open. Restrictions to encourage social distancing will continue.
Orange County Board of Commissioners Chair Penny Rich said, “Strict measures have been in place over the last six weeks to slow the spread of the virus COVID-19, and to protect the public. We will continue to make decisions based on science and recommendations from the state, as well as the Orange County Health Director.”
Orange County Health Director Quintana Stewart said, “The stay at home order thus far has been a tremendous group effort that has achieved its goal of slowing the spread of the virus in our community. By slowly easing restrictions in phases we can make sure that we have sustained hard evidence that things are getting better.”
Easing Restrictions in Phase One
Phase One of the reopening plan allows more businesses to open, such as clothing stores, sporting goods stores, book shops, houseware stores and other retailers. Any open stores must provide education to employees to combat misinformation and implement:
- Appropriate employee and consumer social distancing.
- Enhanced hygiene and cleaning protocols.
- Symptom screening of employees.
- Accommodations for vulnerable workers.
Gatherings will continue to be limited to fewer than 10 people, but parks that have been closed subject to the same gathering limitation will now be allowed to open. Playgrounds will remain closed. Outdoor exercise will continue to be encouraged. In public spaces where 6 feet of distancing isn’t possible, face coverings will still be recommended. Employers will be encouraged to continue teleworking policies, and long-term care facilities and other congregant care settings will continue rigorous restrictions. Offices of the county and towns will not open to the public in Phase One. Timelines for reopening will be announced at a later date. Guidance for BusinessesHighlights of Phase One include: - Any retail business may open at 50% capacity. Businesses will be required to practice social distancing, perform frequent cleanings, provide hand sanitizer when available, screen workers for symptoms and more.
- Certain businesses will remain closed, including bars, personal care businesses, entertainment venues, and gyms. Restaurants may only continue to serve customers for drive-through, takeout and delivery.
- Teleworking will still be encouraged for businesses that can practice it.
- People may leave their homes for commercial activity at any business that is open.
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has created materials to help businesses navigate Phase One, including: - Checklist for Business Owners
- Interim Guidance for Owners, Staff, and Patrons of Businesses
- Symptom Screening Checklist
- Templates to Meet Required Signage
Flushing GuidanceOrange Water and Sewer Authority and the Town of Hillsborough have created water system flushing guidance for any facility that has been closed for more than a few days or has been operating at reduced capacity. Water systems and devices in such buildings should be flushed to ensure stale water is removed and fresh water with disinfectant is available. This reestablishes water quality and prevents waterborne illness. It includes all water-using appliances, like ice machines and dishwashers, and all water treatment devices, like filters and water softeners. The disinfectant added to drinking water begins to dissipate over time and pathogens can begin to grow. Town of Hillsborough, Flush Water Lines in Vacant, Underused Buildings: https://assets.hillsboroughnc.gov/media/documents/public/water-system-flushing-for-buildings-and-homes.pdfTown of Hillsborough, FAQ: Preparing Buildings for Reopening, Ensuring Water Quality: https://assets.hillsboroughnc.gov/media/documents/public/faq-preparing-buildings-for-reopening-ensuring-water-quality.pdfOWASA, Preparing Your Building for Reopening: https://www.owasa.org/flushing-guidance-covid-19/Helpful Links Additional Tips to Flatten the CurveTo lower the risk of spreading respiratory infections, including COVID-19, the Orange County Health Department also encourages everyone to: - Stay home when you are sick.
- Avoid contact with sick people.
- Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when coughing or sneezing.
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer if soap and water are not available.
- Avoid touching your eyes, nose, and mouth.
- Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.
- Call your doctor if you are experiencing symptoms.
- Cloth face coverings are recommended when you leave the house and may be near other people who are not family or household members.
Reliable InformationFor the latest information and guidance relating to Orange County’s COVID-19 response: |
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Phase One of NC reopening will begin Friday, but Stay at Home Order is still in effect
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North Carolina’s Stay at Home order is set to expire May 8th, 2020 and phase one to begin lifting restrictions is set to begin the same day. During phase one for lifting restrictions, the Stay at Home order remains in place, but with less restrictions.
People will be able to leave their homes for other than essential reasons, commercial businesses and retailers/services will be able to open again if they implement social distancing, cleaning and other protocols, gatherings are limited to no more than 10 people, parks can open again as long as gathering limits are observed, face coverings will be recommended in public, restrictions will remain in place for nursing homes and other congregate living settings, and teleworking should continue to be encouraged.
For more information regarding Phase One of NC reopening, please visit the NCDHHS webpage. |
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Celebrating Mother's Day or Graduations during Quarantine
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Beginning at 5 p.m. on Friday, May 8th people will be able to leave their homes for other than essential reasons. During phase one, the Stay at Home order remains in place, but with less restrictions. Commercial businesses and retailers/services will be able to open again if they implement social distancing, cleaning and other protocols. Gatherings are still limited to no more than 10 people. Parks can open again as long as gathering limits are observed, however playgrounds will still be closed. Face coverings are still recommended in public. Restrictions will remain in place for nursing homes and other congregate living settings, and teleworking should continue to be encouraged.
This means that people should still stay home as much as possible and not yet gather for celebrations at this point. Not gathering at this point is important for the health of our community members, so remember, if you are looking for ways to show you care, stay away from those you love and care about, at least for now.
Just because we cannot be physically together does not mean we cannot be there for each other.
We wish to celebrate mothers on May 10th, 2020. Here are some ways to celebrate our mother’s during phase one of lifting Stay at Home order restrictions: - If you live with your mother, make her breakfast in bed or picnic in the backyard.
- Create a craft with the kids (here is an example, https://kidsactivitiesblog.com/137721/family-handprint/)
- If you can drive by your mom’s house, decorate her front door, so she and her neighbors can see how much she is loved.
- Take a virtual tour at the same time.https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/travel/a31784720/best-virtual-tours/
- Watch a movie together (pop in a DVD/Blue-ray or stream, if you are not in the same household Netflix has made it possible to synchronize video playback so multiple parties can be watching a movie/show at the same time: https://www.netflixparty.com/#landing)
- Host a virtual brunch (Zoom, Skype, Google Hangout, or another service).
- Send her an e-card or an e-gift card.
- Make a video message to send to her.
- Order your mom’s favorite meal from her favorite local restaurant for delivery or pick it up for her (through curbside pickup) and drop it off for her on her front porch (of course call her to let her know that there is food there.
- Create a grateful jar: have members in the family (even those not living together) write on slips of paper things they are grateful for and put them in a jar, read a few out for mom over the phone or on a video chat and share them all once restrictions are completely lifted.
- Find a recipe you and mom love and set up a video call and bake/cook together.
- You can always order a gift online (order supplies so mom can enjoy an at home spa day, like bath bombs, etc).
We also acknowledge and respect that Mother’s Day may be difficult and complicated for some people, like for people who have lost their mothers, people who have strained relationships with their mothers, blended families, and those who have had issues with fertility. If you are in this category, do what you need to make sure you are taken care of while staying safe. Perhaps make it a day of self-care, if possible. Graduations: May also marks graduation time for many students, and it is a time to celebrate the accomplishments of a long-time educational journey. Since we should still stay home and not gather, we cannot celebrate in the traditional ways, but this does not diminish the pride and joy we have for graduating students! Congratulations! Here are some ways to celebrate grads during this time: - Watch: #Graduation2020: Facebook and Instagram Celebrate the Class of 2020. May 15th @2pm ET. Commencement address given by Oprah Winfrey, Awkwafina, Jennifer Garner, Lil Nas X, Simone Biles, and more. https://about.fb.com/news/2020/04/graduation-2020/
- Watch: Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020. Airing on ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC on May 16th at 8pm EDT. Commencement address given by Barack Obama, LeBron James, Malala Yousafzai, Ben Platt, and more.
- Host a video Chat Party! (use Zoom, Skype, etc.)
- Record a video tribute. Compile celebratory videos and send to the graduate.
- If family want to send graduation gifts, send them to someone else who lives with them so they can create a “gift scavenger hunt.”
- Create a message where you show one of your favorite memories with the grad (old pictures are always fun!) and send to them. Maybe even do some scrap booking.
- Decorate the graduate’s mailbox or door!
- Have an at home photo shoot! Decorate a photo wall if you can to make it more festive!
- Send e-card or e-gift card.
- As always you can order gifts online. Maybe the grad can create an online wish list.
- Plan now for a party later, once it is safer and restrictions have been lifted.
While we understand that it is strange and perhaps disappointing to have to change our celebration traditions, it is necessary for the health of our community. Remember, there is no better gift than health. |
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 13,397 COVID-19 cases, 525 hospitalizations and 507 deaths as of May 7, 2020. For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every morning at 11 a.m.), please visit the NCDHHS website.
Orange County Health Department also has a COVID-19 dashboard webpage, with information on COVID-19 data in the county. The dashboard will be updated every Tuesday and Thursday.
There are currently 239 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, and 30 deaths.
Social distancing is extremely important to limit the spread of COVID-19. Included below are infographics in English, Spanish and Chinese that give tips on social distancing.
Orange County encourages residents to practice social distancing along with other steps, such as proper hand washing, to combat the spread.
Spanish, Chinese, Kinyarwanda, Chinese and Karen versions of the graphics below are available here.
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Viruses Do Not Discriminate...but Our Country Does
The Black Community and COVID-19
Part ll
May 7, 2020
Housing
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The novel coronavirus, COVID-19, has had devastating effects on people globally, nationally, and locally. There has also been a lot of discussion on who or which communities have been affected at higher rates by the virus. In Orange County to date, there have been 239 positive cases and 30 deaths. For more detailed information on cases in Orange County visit https://www.orangecountync.gov/2332/Coronavirus-COVID-19.
The department is writing a series of articles to help our community understand the underlying conditions that have historically impacted communities of color and why no one should be surprised that communities of color are once again vulnerable to a major public health crisis. The department has a deep understanding of how the racialized history of the US has been detrimental to everyone, particularly the black, indigenous, and people of color communities. Institutional and systemic racism in policies, practices, and procedures in housing have left communities of color exposed to many difficult barriers and COVID-19 is no exception. Without this context, the fear is that we will interpret COVID-19 disparities as being caused by the individual behaviors of black people instead of the structural racism that drives these health disparities, the so-called “blame the victim” phenomena.
In the second article of our equity series, we look at inequitable outcomes in housing for people of color and how that is exacerbated during COVID-19. There are also other amazing journalists and organizations bringing light to this topic in the media. This piece highlights housing as a human right and calls for the need to provide housing to the homeless during the pandemic. The New York Times launched a series called “The America We Need” and does a deep dive into inequality, race, and COVID-19 and the need to emerge from the pandemic stronger, more equitable and more just.
COVID-19 has forced millions to stay-at-home and yet we know from our last article on employment that just as many are considered essential workers and cannot stay at home. For those that are at home, many already were and are now facing even worse financial housing issues. Orange County has an affordable housing crisis and COVID-19 will shed an even greater light on this issue.
What does it mean to be able to afford housing? Housing is affordable when you pay less than 30% of your income on rent/or mortgage plus your utilities. In 2020, the area median income (AMI) for Orange County was $90,900. If you rent, the median rental price for a two-bedroom apartment in the county is $902. In order to afford an apartment at $902/month, you would have to be making an income of $42,200 a year or $20.29 per hour (this is less than 50% AMI for a family of four which means this is considered a very low income household). However, in Orange County the mean wage earned by those who rent is $14.12 per hour. In order to afford this apartment, you would need to work about 112 hours a week. This means that most renters need to find housing less than $902 a month and even still they would be paying more than 30% of their income to cover the rent and utilities leaving them housing burdened. In Orange County, 14% of people live in poverty, the majority of whom are people of color. Black and Hispanic residents are more likely to live in poverty than their White or Asian counterparts (29% Black, 41% Hispanic, 15% White and 16% Asian). That means the majority of people living in substandard housing, public housing, mobile home parks, homes located near environmental hazards and the homeless are people of color and are facing extreme hardships due to COVID-19.
When you spend more than 30% of your income on rent/or mortgage plus utilities, individuals are forced to make financial sacrifices elsewhere in your household. This could be skipping medication, skipping meals, skipping healthcare checkups, etc. During COVID-19 when individuals have lost jobs or had hours cut, being able to afford rent when you were just surviving before will be even harder now. Although the state has put a moratorium on evictions, it does not mean that evictions will go away once the moratorium is lifted. Evictions will still move forward and many, particularly our immigrant and refugee communities, will especially be impacted since many are not eligible for relief funds from the state or federal government. We could be facing higher rates of homelessness, foreclosures, or crowded living when others have to move in with other family members.
Past government policies at the federal, state and local level all contribute to this pattern in housing--segregation, redlining, restrictive covenants, the GI bill, urban renewal, etc. When you scratch the surface of racialized housing patterns, you see the hand of policymakers shaping discriminatory practices. Maybe this system of racism was intentional in some cases, unintentional in others, but either way, the result is the same--white people as a whole live in better housing in healthier neighborhoods. We know this matters a lot even under normal circumstances. Now, add COVID-19 on top of all of that and you see what a difficult place we’re in as a community and a nation.
So what’s happening in Orange County to address housing issues in response to COVID-19? The following is a sample of some of the responses both by local government and the community at large: - The Housing Helpline is operational; if people are in a housing crisis they can call 12pm-4pm at 919-245-2655 to talk with someone about options to prevent eviction, retain housing, prevent homelessness, or work on temporary or permanent housing options. The Housing Helpline is the County’s new point of entry for Coordinated Entry, which connects people in need of housing assistance to program and services referrals, which can include financial assistance.
- Housing Stabilization Fund, which provides emergency housing assistance—that is, grants for one-time help with housing-related costs such as security deposits, rent arrears, etc. This is not ongoing rental assistance, but can provide emergency help for housing stabilization. More information on the Fund and the application requirements is available here:
- The Housing Department is working to set up a Rapid Re-Housing program, which will provide ongoing rent assistance for up to 24 months. This program is not live yet, but once it is, more information will be distributed.
- Mutual Aid groups have created, distributed and are maintaining hand washing stations in Chapel Hill and Carrboro for people experiencing homelessness.
- A program to de-congregate homeless shelters for people living in congregate settings is in the works.
Let’s be real. Housing is a hard issue to tackle. What could it look like on the other side of this? How could our neighborhoods be more integrated? More healthy? Stronger and more resilient? More prepared for an emergency? Orange County is a member of the Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE). GARE has created a COVID-19 toolkit for local governments. It includes a set of questions (see below) to use when setting up a COVID response. How are we going to ensure our communities of color in Orange County are prioritized in our response as well as those who have lost businesses? How are we going to ensure our immigrant and refugee communities have access to funding regardless of their legal status? How will we rebuild a more equitable government in which marginalized communities have a say in the decision making? These are questions to ask ourselves all the time, not just in times of crisis.
Questions to ask: Is this form of relief… - Going directly to the people and communities who need it?
- Accessible regardless of ability or status?
- Being prioritized for communities already living on the margins (e.g. older adults, gender, ethnic, and racial minorities, urban and rural poor)?
- Rebuilding toward a just and sustainable future?
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Orange County, NC Response to COVID-19
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Orange County, NC: We Are All in This Together
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Links to additional language interpretations are included below: |
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Community Food Distribution Site
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COVID-19 Community Resources
For more information on COVID-19 community resources in the county, please visit our webpage. Resources on specific topic areas, such as food access, education, housing, and others, are all accessible on our website, or at the links below.
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