COVID-19 Updates: June 2, 2020
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Governor Roy Cooper Addresses Protests
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Originally posted by WYFF4, May 31st, 2020
"The unjust killing of George Floyd less than a week ago, combined with many other recent and distant events, broke open, painful wounds. These scars mark generations of trauma that black people and other communities of color continue to suffer trauma that is too often gone unrecognized in our country."
"We've had moments of heightened awareness, some right here in our own state, but they faded from the headlines too fast. We've made some progress, but when you see George Floyd on the ground begging for air, you realize that we have so much more work to do for people of color. These were not just cable news headlines, they are life and death warnings. They are stark instructions from parents to children about how to stay safe in their own communities and how to stay safe during encounters with law enforcement. They are heartbreaking memorials for people who should not be dead."
"George Floyd should be alive, along with many others, all of us should have done more to protect them. In a number of cities across our state of the past two days, protesters gathered to seek justice for them and for themselves and their children to call for changes to the systemic problems that have allowed racism to endure. Many brought their children with them to show the importance of calling for action. Unfortunately, today, the headlines are not about those protesters and their calls for serious, meaningful change. They are more about riots and tear gas and broken windows and stolen property. That's wrong and must be stopped. But I fear the cry of the people is being drowned out by the noise of the riots."
"Let me be clear about one thing. People are more important than property. Black lives do matter."
Additional comments from NC Governor Cooper:
"George Floyd's sister Bridget, lives in Hope County, North Carolina. I spoke to her yesterday by phone. While I cannot bring her brother back, I can work for justice in his name. I assured her that's what we would do. This is a painful moment for our country and our great state of North Carolina."
"We have to constructively channel our anger, frustration and sadness to force accountability and action. If we don't, then we hadn't learned anything. We have to have these hard conversations and then move beyond them to do the work of fighting racism and building safe, thriving communities."
Watch the full news conference here. |
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COVID-19 Mobile Testing Site
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There will a mobile testing unit that will be at Mt. Zion Church from 1 to 6 p.m. this Friday, June 5th. Location information is included below:
COVID-19 MOBILE TESTING UNIT Friday, June 5th, 1-6 pm Mt Zion AME Church 5124 NC-86, Hillsborough, NC 27278 |
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Protesting Racism Versus Risking COVID-19:
'I Wouldn't Weigh These Crises Separately' |
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Author, Bill Chappell, National Public Radio (NPR), June 1, 2020
Mass protests that have erupted over police brutality toward black people in America are raising concerns about the risk of spreading the coronavirus. But some health experts, even as they urge caution, said they support the demonstrations — because racism also poses a dire health threat.
Tens of thousands of people, masked and unmasked, have thronged the streets of Minneapolis, Atlanta, Louisville, Ky., and other cities in the week since George Floyd died after a white Minneapolis police officer kneeled on his neck. They are the largest public gatherings in the U.S. since the pandemic forced widespread shutdowns, and many local officials warned of a possible spike in new cases in one or two weeks.
"Risk of transmission is lower in open spaces, but wherever there is a gathering there is still the risk of transmitting the virus," said Dr. Elaine Nsoesie, an assistant professor of global health at Boston University.
Health experts urged protesters not to sing and shout to reduce the threat of person-to-person transmission. And they cautioned that police tactics such as tear gas and pepper spray could exacerbate the situation by prompting people to cough and gasp for air.
The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene issued a list of tips for demonstrators to lower their risk of contracting COVID-19, such as covering their faces and staying in small groups.
"Don't yell; use signs & noise makers instead," the department advised.
Tips are listed below: - Wear a face covering
- Wear eye protection to prevent injury
- Stay hydrated
- Use hand sanitizer
- Don't yell; use signs & noise makers instead
- Stick to a small group
- Keep 6 feet from other groups
Nsoesie said that while she agrees with the sentiment, "I can see how some of these tips can be difficult to follow. For example, if you are angry or frustrated about an issue, you want to express that feeling, and speaking is one way of doing that."
She added, "It's also hard to keep 6 feet of distance at a protest."
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser said she's worried about how consecutive days of protests could trigger an influx of COVID-19 cases. Huge demonstrations began in the nation's capital on Friday — the same day Bowser lifted stay-at-home orders and eased shutdown rules.
The city is still limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people. But in the streets around the White House, that cap is regularly exceeded by orders of magnitude.
"I'm so concerned about it that I'm urging everybody to consider their exposure if they need to isolate from their family members when they go home and if they need to be tested, because we have worked very hard to blunt the curve," Bowser said on NBC's Meet the Press.
But the risks of congregating during a global pandemic shouldn't keep people from protesting racism, according to dozens of public health and disease experts who signed an open letter in support of the protests.
"White supremacy is a lethal public health issue that predates and contributes to COVID-19," the letter said.
Initially written by infectious disease experts at the University of Washington, the letter cited a number of systemic problems, from the disproportionately high rate at which black people have been killed by police in the U.S. to disparities in life expectancy and other vital categories — including black Americans' higher death rate from the coronavirus.
"Data is showing that blacks and Latinos have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in many states," said Nsoesie, who was not among the letter's signatories when NPR contacted her. "Racism is one of the reasons this disparity exists."
She continued, "Racism is a social determinant of health. It affects the physical and mental health of blacks in the U.S. So I wouldn't weigh these crises separately."
Local governments should not break up crowded demonstrations "under the guise of maintaining public health," the experts said in their open letter. They urged law enforcement agencies not to use tear gas, smoke and other irritants, saying they could make people more susceptible to infection and worsen existing health conditions.
The medical professionals also acknowledged the potential for COVID-19 cases to rise in the days to come, and they called for public health agencies to boost access to care and testing in affected communities.
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Originally posted by UNCHealthTalk, May 26, 2020
At this time, you may think there are a lot of reasons you shouldn’t visit a doctor if you have concerns about your health. Because of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), you might wonder if your symptoms warrant the risk of leaving your home or if your local clinic or emergency department is safe to visit. Are doctors too busy to deal with your concerns? (Spoiler alert: No, they want to help.)
We talked to two UNC Health physicians who answered our questions about where and when to seek treatment, and why it could be dangerous to delay.
Leave Diagnosing and Treating Illness to the Experts
While there may be a wealth of medical information at your fingertips these days—some reliable, some definitely not—that doesn’t mean you can accurately diagnose your ailment. For example, COVID-19 and seasonal allergies share some symptoms, and it’s very important to know which you’re dealing with.
UNC Health family medicine doctor Alexa M. Mieses Malchuk, MD, MPH, recently took a call from a patient who had experienced burning with urination for more than a month. The woman self-diagnosed a urinary tract infection and took over-the-counter medication. Then the discomfort accelerated to include symptoms of nausea, vomiting and fever, Dr. Mieses Malchuk says.
“So this poses an issue, because on one hand, this could be an example of a UTI that’s gotten out of control and ascended to the patient’s kidneys, causing a more serious infection in her body. Or could the burning with urination be an incidental finding and she should be screened for COVID-19 because of the fever and vomiting?”
Dr. Mieses Malchuk says she has seen more examples of people trying to diagnose and treat their illnesses at home to avoid a visit to the doctor. If an infection or other condition is misdiagnosed and left to develop, it can be dangerous to your health. It also could make it more difficult for your provider to determine the cause of your symptoms when he or she is consulted. Plus, some infections, including UTIs, require antibiotics that you can’t buy over the counter.
“Family doctors are here to problem-solve—not just to diagnose, but figure out how to get you the best care without undergoing undue risk,” Dr. Mieses Malchuk says.
Postponing Treatment Can Be Dangerous
When it comes to heart attack and stroke, delaying treatment can have severe consequences, including death.
“They have a saying in cardiology: Time is heart muscle,” says UNC Health emergency medicine doctor Abhi Mehrotra, MD. “If you think you’ve had a heart attack or another heart event, the longer you wait to get treatment, the more you lose heart function.”
The same is true of stroke, in which every minute counts to preserve brain tissue.
Unfortunately, it appears that people who are experiencing symptoms of heart attack and stroke are delaying going to the emergency department because they’re not absolutely sure and they’re worried about catching the coronavirus.
Visits to emergency departments across the U.S. are down, Dr. Mehrotra says. In Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, the number of patients seen is down 40 to 50 percent compared with this time last year.
“The concern is that patients who need to seek treatment are not,” he says.
If you have a health issue or symptom of a serious event such as heart attack or stroke, time matters. Seek help immediately by calling 911 or visiting the emergency department. The risk of staying home in these cases may be far worse than the benefits.
Schedule a Telehealth Visit
If you’re uncertain about whether it’s a good idea to visit your doctor, simply ask by phone or through your health system’s messaging platform.
Your provider will make a virtual visit work if he or she can, for everyone’s safety.
“We’re trying to handle as much as possible virtually through a video or phone visit right now,” Dr. Mieses Malchuk says.
Telehealth capabilities and insurance coverage have rapidly expanded in recent months. Dr. Mieses Malchuk says that many initial visits at UNC Family Medicine clinics can be done virtually.
“Even when arriving at the emergency department, you have the option of arranging a telehealth encounter where you can have a video visit with an emergency medicine provider (from your car) if you don’t immediately need to come into the ED,” Dr. Mehrotra says.
Clinics and Hospitals Are Prepared to Help
For the cases that need an in-person visit to a clinic or hospital, know that healthcare workers are making your safety, and their own, the first priority.
Waiting rooms are either no longer being used—some offices might ask you to wait in your car—or strict physical distancing measures are in place. In some cases, including UNC Health’s emergency departments in Chapel Hill and Hillsborough, tents have been set up outside to screen patients for COVID-19 and provide masks for them to wear during their visits. People with COVID-19 symptoms are separated from those without.
Clinic staff are minimizing the number of people who see each patient, and everyone is wearing masks and other personal protective equipment as needed. Surfaces are frequently sanitized, and hand-washing is a constant. If a patient only needs bloodwork, some clinics are sending phlebotomists to the patient’s car to draw blood.
“We’re doing everything we can to keep patients safe,” Dr. Mieses Malchuk says. “We have administrative staff acting as air traffic controllers to make sure patients aren’t crossing paths with each other. Everyone, including the providers as well as staff, is wearing PPE. We do wellness checks at the beginning of each day with our staff.”
The takeaway? The experts want to help keep you healthy, and they’re taking all the precautions possible to protect you and your family, and themselves and their families. However, your medical needs don’t “pause” for COVID-19.
“If a patient needs help, we’re here for them,” Dr. Mehrotra says.
If you’d like to schedule a telehealth visit with a physician, you can use UNC Health’s 24/7 Virtual Urgent Care, or see if your provider is offering virtual services. |
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OC Government to Help Tenants Avoid Eviction
with New Program
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Recently, Orange County Government moved to approve the budget for its Eviction Diversion Program. Once officially adopted, this program will help eligible Orange County residents avoid eviction, address substandard housing conditions and maintain the affordable housing supply.
This program comes at a time where the number of requests for emergency housing assistance more than quadrupled in April. At this time, a large majority of requests are coming from low-income residents who have been out of work due to COVID-19 and business closures. The Urban Institute estimates that more than 5,000 Orange County residents lost employment due to COVID-19.
In February, Orange County led the state with the lowest unemployment rate of 2.9 percent but because of COVID-19, Orange County’s unemployment rate in March increased to 3.4 percent. With this rise in unemployment, Orange County Government has seen a big increase in requests for housing assistance.
Since January, over $70,000 dollars in assistance has been funded. There are approximately $53,000 dollars in Emergency Housing Assistance funds remaining, but with new requests coming in every day, Orange County Government said that estimate changes daily.
Orange County Commissioner Penny Rich said the program will officially be approved on June 2 now that some funds have been reallocated.
“So that’s something that’s going to be able to help folks to at least stay in their apartments or homes for maybe one or two months but we really need to think about how we can fund that moving forward,” Rich said.
As courts prepare to reopen around the county, Rich said that will be another stressor for those facing eviction.
Orange County Government said the Clerk of Court’s Office has seen a dramatic increase in eviction filings and is now adding additional court hearing dates. To combat this, the Eviction Diversion Program would bring together Legal Aid of North Carolina and pro bono attorneys to represent tenants in court and to act as court mediators – negotiating agreements between tenants and landlords to avoid eviction.
For more information on Orange County Government and the Eviction Diversion Program, click here. |
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NCDHHS COVID-19 Resources: Videos in ASL with Captions
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NCDHHS has a webpage with all COVID-19 educational resources translated in ASL.
To access the page, please click this link. |
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 29,889 COVID-19 cases, 921 deaths, and 716 hospitalizations, as of June 2, 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 357 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, and 40 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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