COVID-19 Updates: September 30, 2020 |
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Governor Cooper Moves North Carolina to Phase 3 With Stable Numbers |
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North Carolina will ease cautiously some restrictions while continuing safety measures to combat the spread of COVID-19 as the state’s metrics remained stable in September, Governor Roy Cooper announced today.
“Our top priority remains getting children back to in-person learning. This month marks a major shift for many families now and in the coming months as schools open their doors, some for the first time since the pandemic,” said Governor Cooper. “The virus continues to spread, so we must take the next steps methodically, and responsibly.”
“We must continue our hard work to slow the spread of this virus,” said Secretary Mandy K. Cohen, M.D. “By practicing the 3Ws — wear, wait and wash, — getting your flu shot, and downloading the SlowCOVIDNC app, each of us can protect the progress we have made.”
Dr. Cohen reviewed the state’s key metrics:
Trajectory in COVID-Like Illness (CLI) Surveillance Over 14 Days - North Carolina’s syndromic surveillance trend for COVID-like illness has a slight increase.Trajectory of Confirmed Cases Over 14 Days
- North Carolina’s trajectory of lab-confirmed cases is level.
Trajectory in Percent of Tests Returning Positive Over 14 Days- North Carolina’s trajectory in percent of tests returning positive is level.
Trajectory in Hospitalizations Over 14 Days- North Carolina’s trajectory of hospitalizations is level.
In addition to these metrics, the state continues building capacity to adequately respond to an increase in virus spread in testing, tracing and prevention. No-cost testing events are being deployed across the state and testing turnaround times are improving. New contact tracers are bolstering the efforts of local health departments. A new NCDHHS app, SlowCOVIDNC, is notifying users of exposure to the virus. Personal protective equipment (PPE) supplies are stable. As these metrics and capacity remain stable, the state will ease some restrictions starting Friday. Executive Order 169 begins Oct. 2 at 5 p.m. and continues for three weeks through October 23. Its new provisions include: - Large outdoor venues with seating greater than 10,000 may operate with 7% occupancy for spectators.
- Smaller outdoor entertainment venues, like arenas or amphitheaters, may operate outdoors at 30% of outdoor capacity, or 100 guests, whichever is less.
- Movie theaters and conference centers may open indoor spaces to 30% of capacity, or 100 guests, whichever is less.
- Bars may operate outdoors at 30% of outdoor capacity, or 100 guests, whichever is less.
- Amusement parks may open at 30% occupancy, outdoor attractions only.
- The limits on mass gatherings will remain at 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors.
- The 11 pm curfew on alcohol sales for in-person consumption in locations such as restaurants and outdoor bars will be extended to October 23.
State and public health officials will continue watching the key COVID-19 trends over the next several weeks to determine if any further restrictions can be eased when the current
Executive Order expires October 23.
Read Executive Order 169.
Read the FAQs on Executive Order 169.
Read the slides from today's briefing. |
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There will be a free COVID-19 testing event Friday, October 2nd from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. There will be a testing event every 1st Friday of the month at this same location.
Where: Whitted Human Services Building
300 West Tryon St.
Hillsborough, NC 27278
When: Friday, October 2nd from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., reoccurring on the 1st Friday of the month for the foreseeable future at this same location at the same time.
Anyone is welcome to come for a test. Registration is on site and COVID-19 tests are free.
Links to Flyers: |
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Mask Up, Lather Up, Sleeve Up |
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The single best way to prevent seasonal flu is to get vaccinated each year, but good health habits like avoiding people who are sick, covering your cough and washing your hands often can help stop the spread of germs and prevent respiratory illnesses like flu. There also are flu antiviral drugs that can be used to treat and prevent flu.
The tips and resources below will help you learn about actions you can take to protect yourself and others from flu and help stop the spread of germs. Avoid close contact.Avoid close contact with people who are sick. When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick too. Stay home when you are sick.If possible, stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick. This will help prevent spreading your illness to others. Cover your mouth and nose.Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. It may prevent those around you from getting sick. Flu and other serious respiratory illnesses, like respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), whooping cough, and COVID-19, are spread by cough, sneezing, or unclean hands. Clean your hands.Washing your hands often will help protect you from germs. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub. - Handwashing: Clean Hands Save Lives
Tips on hand washing and using alcohol-based hand sanitizers - It’s a SNAP Toolkit: Handwashingexternal icon
Hand washing resources from the It’s A SNAP program, aimed at preventing school absenteeism by promoting clean hands. From the School Network for Absenteeism Prevention, a collaborative project of the CDC, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the American Cleaning Institute.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth. Practice other good health habits.Clean and disinfect frequently touched surfaces at home, work or school, especially when someone is ill. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. |
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Vaccine Availability at the Health Department
At this time, the Health Department does not have a vaccine available for those between the ages of 3 to 64 who have insurance or who would pay cash. We have private vaccine for purchase, out of pocket, as well as private stock to bill someone’s insurance.
We will make every effort to keep this information current as our vaccine situation changes.
Call to Schedule Your Flu Vaccine Appointment:
For an appointment, call 919-245-2400 and select option 3 for our Chapel Hill clinic or option 4 for our Hillsborough clinic
Cost:
The Orange County Health Department has vaccine that is funded through 2 separate entities: - Free vaccine provided by the State through the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Program. State (free) vaccine is available for the following groups:
- Children ages 6 months to 18 years without health insurance
- Children ages 6 months to 18 years who are Medicaid -eligible
- Children ages 6 months to 18 years whose health insurance does not cover any of the cost of flu vaccine (this does not include children for whom flu vaccine would be covered if they had met their annual deductible or children whose insurance requires a copay)
- Children ages 6 months to 18 years who are Alaskan Natives
- Children ages 6 months to 18 years who are American Indians
- Unaccompanied minors coming to a Title X clinic
- Non-Medicaid, uninsured women who are pregnant during the flu season who receive services from the Health Department
- Women with a family planning waiver receiving service at the Health Department
- Purchased vaccine that is paid for with county money for which the Health Department must bill insurance or receive payment.
Delays:Due to delays in the availability of flu vaccine this year, some of the purchased vaccine has not arrived and vaccine is currently only available to in the following age groups: - 6 months to 35 months of age ($34)
- 65 years of age and up ($58 High Dose Vaccine)
We will only be supplying 2 private vaccines: - Fluzone – 6months of age and older; Quadrivalent vaccine; cost = $36.00
- Flublok – 18years and older; recombinant Quadrivalent vaccine; cost = $71.00
*The cost of the vaccine includes the $18.00 administrative fee. We have a sliding fee scale (you pay according to your income) and also offer payment plans for flu shots.
Additional Information:
View the Center for Disease Control website for more Flu Information, or learn more about Flu Prevention Basics. |
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Why Black, Indigenous and Other People of Color Experience Greater Harm During the Pandemic |
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In Boston's Mattapan on August 15, 2020, protesters march from Jubilee Christian Church to protest police brutality, systemic racism and other oppressive systems unfavorable to Black and Brown people. (John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) |
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By Mahader Tamene, Elleni M. Hailu, Rachel L. Berkowitz, Xing Gao SMITHSONIANMAG.COM
SEPTEMBER 15, 2020 |
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Structural racism is inextricably intertwined with the political and legal systems in the United States, a legacy that predates the country’s founding, through the genocide of Indigenous populations and the kidnapping and selling of millions of Africans into slavery.
Preeminent public health scholar and former president of the American Public Health Association Camara Jones defines structural racism as “a system of structuring opportunity and assigning value based on the social interpretation of how one looks (which is what we call ‘race’), that unfairly disadvantages some individuals and communities, unfairly advantages other individuals and communities, and saps the strength of the whole society through the waste of human resources.”
This system directly and indirectly impacts public health and the wellbeing of populations and results in stark racial differences across various health outcomes. It underscores that deep racial health inequities are not a result of the dispelled theory of biological “race,” but are driven by structural racism—the policies, practices and norms that create and uphold racial superiority and inferiority.
Today’s compounded public health crises of COVID-19 and police violence have disproportionately impacted Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and elevated the global discourse around structural racism. The recent police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, and the recent police shooting of Jacob Blake clearly reflect historical and contemporary manifestations of structural racism in the form of police violence.
This same structural racism is also equally responsible for the elevated rates of COVID-19 infection and death among Black, Indigenous and Latinx people. This particular moment is a blatant reminder of just how embedded structural racism is in American society, both historically and in the present.
The work of dismantling this system requires collective power. The responsibility to upend it lies with all of us. |
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Workers in rural Imperial County, California, wait in line to fill out unemployment forms. In July 2020, this majority Latino county had the state's highest death rate from COVID-19. In California, Latinos make up about 39 percent of the population, but account for 55 percent of confirmed coronavirus cases. (Mario Tama/Getty Images) |
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Structural Racism as a Public Health Issue Hundreds of years of unjust and racist policies and practices in the United States continue to impact where people may live and work, the air they may breathe, the quality of their education and their access to healthcare. All of this affects health and wellbeing. Scholars have produced a large body of research examining the health impacts of structural racism. Even the most prominent medical and public health professional associations, including the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the American Public Health Association, have released public statements calling for urgent recognition of and attention toward the health impacts of structural racism.
One of the many manifestations of structural racism that still needs to be addressed as an urgent public health crisis is police violence. Developed in large part from the system of slave patrols dating back to the 1700s, the institution of policing continues to be a source of violence against Black communities, in particular, and communities of color more broadly.
Long before the recent headlined police killings, the field of public health officially recognized police violence as a public health issue, and scholars have documented its devastating impact on the health of communities of color. For example, researchers examining premature mortality due to police violence found that upwards of about 55,000 years of life lost (a measure of premature mortality) were due to killings by police—a burden similar in magnitude to maternal deaths and greater than unintentional firearm injuries. Most significantly, despite making up only 38.5 percent of the U.S. population, BIPOC comprised 51.5 percent of these premature deaths at the hands of police violence.
These same communities are also more likely to become sicker and die from COVID-19. Racist systems and structures that long precede the pandemic impact BIPOC’s increased risk of exposure to and complications from SARS-CoV-2, the virus causing COVID-19.
These systems and structures create disparate rates of heightened chronic health conditions, poor working environments and denser and crowded housing. These persistent inequities can be traced back to the Jim Crow era (1877–1954), when the progress that Black communities made during the brief Reconstruction era was intentionally upended through state-driven segregation in healthcare, job opportunities and housing.
Long after the end of Jim Crow, institutions continue to uphold racist practices that still leave BIPOC in this country with subpar resources across all these sectors. As a consequence of these inequitable policies, Black and Latinx people are three times more likely to be infected with SARS-CoV-2 than white people and two times more likely to die from it. Compared with white people, American Indian/Alaska Native individuals are approximately five times as likely to be hospitalized for COVID-19, and at one point the Navajo nation had a higher infection rate than all of New York state.
Structural racism also lives at the intersection of these crises. We see this in the ways policing further exacerbates the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on BIPOC communities. Chronic stress from being exposed to over-policing can result in cumulative wear and tear of the body.
This physiological deterioration can lead to adverse health outcomes such as hypertension, that serve as underlying risk factors for COVID-19 complications. Furthermore, the very measures intended to protect people from COVID-19—physical distancing and public mask-wearing—create heightened opportunities for law enforcement to further brutalize and racially profile BIPOC. Consequently, communities of color are left to choose between the risk of acquiring COVID-19 and the risk of experiencing police violence—both of which can have lethal consequences. |
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A food bank at the town of Casamero Lake, in the Navajo Nation in May 2020. That month the Navajo Nation had a higher infection rate than all of New York state. American Indian and Alaska Native individuals are approximately five times as likely as the general population to be hospitalized for COVID-19 than the general population. (Mark RALSTON / AFP) (Photo by MARK RALSTON/AFP via Getty Images) |
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Failed Responses to Public Health Crises The responses to both of these crises demonstrate the devaluation of BIPOC lives. Our country’s COVID-19 response has largely failed communities of color. Since the start of the pandemic, we have heard reports of countless BIPOC with COVID-19 symptoms being turned away from obtaining testing.
As the pandemic ravages the country, people of color face testing shortages, with few testing centers available in their communities. Additionally, the federal stimulus package, meant to provide economic relief for families experiencing financial strain due to the pandemic, excluded many vulnerable communities. Most notably, undocumented people, many of whom are Latinx essential workers, were ineligible.
And despite the well-documented, devastating impact of this pandemic on BIPOC populations, many state governments dismissed public health warnings and began reopening. This woefully inadequate state response is reminiscent of the countless times BIPOC in this country have been historically harmed by medicine and public health.
The public health response of the 1918 influenza pandemic is particularly emblematic of the systemic negligence of Black lives. In the midst of this pandemic, many Black people fled the segregated Jim Crow South for a promise of better life in Northern cities where they were instead met with prejudice, violence and segregationist policies. Public health officials and medical workers blamed Southern Black migrants for spreading the flu. The social conditions many of these migrants were subjected to as a result of segregationist housing practices—including squalid housing conditions and overcrowding—were cited as pathologies responsible for the outbreak.
As a 1917 Chicago Daily Tribune article excerpt highlights, these migrants were seen as culpable for their own conditions: “compelled to live crowded in dark and insanitary rooms.” Consequently, Black influenza patients received substandard care in segregated and under-resourced hospitals. As Black deaths mounted, institutional racism persisted.
For example, white sanitation employees in Baltimore refused to dig graves for Black influenza victims after the city’s only Black cemetery was filled to capacity. As with the 1918 flu pandemic, today’s COVID-19 pandemic exposes the politics of BIPOC disposability.
If our nation’s response to COVID-19 is wholly inadequate, then the government response to the protests against police violence is abysmal. In the wake of the violent police killing of George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man in Minneapolis, many people took to the streets, affirming that Black Lives Matter and calling for systemic transformation of policing.
More than 1,200 health professionals and community stakeholders wrote an open letter in support of protests as vital to dismantling white supremacy, “a lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to COVID-19.” Despite this support, calls for justice have been met with institutional ridicule and dismissal.
Without any conclusive evidence, politicians, news outlets, and individuals on social media platforms blamed protesters for increased COVID-19 cases. Demonstrators were deemed hostile and met with militant law enforcement tactics, including tear-gassing, kettling and mass jailings; increasing their risk for COVID-19.
Institutional forces have long sought to control and dismiss protests against structural racism. Medicine and public health are far from exempt. In “The Protest Psychosis: How Schizophrenia Became a Black Disease,” psychiatrist and historian Jonathan Metzl explores the overdiagnosis of schizophrenia among Black men in the 1960s and 1970s. His study reflects on the racialized diagnostic language of “hostility” and “aggression” in the DSM-II (the diagnostic manual for psychiatry published in 1968). Metzl analyzes medical charts from a large psychiatric hospital in Michigan, revealing how psychiatric symptoms were applied to Black male patients aligned with protest movements of the time, such as the Black Panthers and Black Power movement.
This country has never affirmed the right to protest in response to structural racism because it has yet to reckon with what calls for such protest. Particularly when Black people practice their right to protest, our country has pathologized and retaliated with a callousness that again exposes its devaluation of Black life. Time and time again we are reminded whose lives are valued and whose are deemed dispensable in this country.
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Building on centuries of antiracist efforts, communities continue to advance a way forward, mobilizing efforts across the country, as they did in Manhattan's Foley Square on June 2, 2020, near the Federal Courthouse and the city's police headquarters, to protest the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. (Ira L. Black/Corbis via Getty Images) |
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A Way Forward: Toward Dismantling Structural Racism Both police violence and COVID-19 reveal the inextricable links across systems rooted in structural racism that disparately harm BIPOC. Emblematic of this are the autopsy results revealing that George Floyd was positive for COVID-19. Making instrumental strides towards addressing both crises requires dismantling structural racism.
Building on centuries of antiracist efforts, communities continue to mobilize across the country. In response to this historic moment, we see calls for and action towards police divestment and reinvestment in BIPOC communities. We see the establishment of bail funds for demonstrators. We see the formation of mutual aid efforts for COVID-19 relief. We see local organizing of COVID-19 testing sites.
Shaping a brighter future and imagining a nation anew require a confrontation of the histories of this nation—the legacies of settler colonialism, genocide and enslavement—their embodiment ever present in the here and now. This moment refocuses the struggle for health equity as a struggle against racism, requiring intersectional and community-led solutions across systems. It challenges us as a nation to reimagine a society that no longer disavows and devalues BIPOC lives but truly ensures health and wellbeing for all. |
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Chapel Hill Cares: Donation Drive |
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The Police Crisis Unit keeps an inventory of comfort items that are utilized when our unit responds to community members in a variety of crisis situations. For example, a victim of domestic violence may flee their home with very little notice and need supplies with little to no warning. The Crisis Unit will be hosting a drive for comfort items to replenish our inventory. Our team will be at CHPD on Saturday, October 10th from 8:30am to 12:30pm for drive thru contactless donations. Individuals can also call the Crisis Unit and schedule a contactless porch pickup for that day. |
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 210,632 COVID-19 cases, 3,532 deaths, and 956 hospitalizations, as of September 30, 2020. For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every day at noon), 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 2,688 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, and 55 deaths.
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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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