COVID-19 Updates: July 30, 2020

Orange County Launches #MASKUPOCNC Campaign

Orange County is excited to announce the #MaskUpOCNC public health campaign.

The artist-designed poster series and corresponding social media campaign will encourage residents to “mask up” in compliance with state and county mandates.

“We know that wearing a face covering decreases the spread of the virus by trapping airborne particles,  protecting yourself and others from contamination,” said Penny Rich, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. “By wearing a mask, you do your individual part to help protect the whole population. You wear a mask to protect others, and they wear a mask to protect you. Mask up, Orange County!”

Orange County artists Mike Benson, Marcela Slade, and Bob Goldstein designed a series of eight posters depicting cultural icons encouraging the public to wear a face covering. The posters have been placed across the county.

Starting this week, residents are encouraged to share photos of themselves on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter wearing their face coverings and using the hashtag #MaskUpOCNC. One participant will be selected each week of the campaign to receive a $25 gift certificate to a local area business. Winners will be announced on Fridays.

The project is a partnership of communicators across Orange County and is led by the Orange County Arts Commission, with communicators from the Arts Commission, Orange County Health Department, Orange County Public Library, Orange County Office of Community Relations and the Town of Hillsborough on the committee.

To view each work in the series, visit www.artsorange.org/maskup.

The New York Times

Opinion | John Lewis

Together, You Can Redeem the Soul of Our Nation

By John Lewis
Mr. Lewis, the civil rights leader who died on July 17, wrote this essay shortly before his death, to be published upon the day of his funeral (July 30, 2020). Editorial Page Editor Kathleen Kingsbury wrote about this piece and Mr. Lewis’s legacy in Thursday’s edition of our Opinion Today newsletter.

While my time here has now come to an end, I want you to know that in the last days and hours of my life you inspired me. You filled me with hope about the next chapter of the great American story when you used your power to make a difference in our society. Millions of people motivated simply by human compassion laid down the burdens of division. Around the country and the world you set aside race, class, age, language and nationality to demand respect for human dignity.

That is why I had to visit Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, though I was admitted to the hospital the following day. I just had to see and feel it for myself that, after many years of silent witness, the truth is still marching on.

Emmett Till was my George Floyd. He was my Rayshard Brooks, Sandra Bland and Breonna Taylor. He was 14 when he was killed, and I was only 15 years old at the time. I will never ever forget the moment when it became so clear that he could easily have been me. In those days, fear constrained us like an imaginary prison, and troubling thoughts of potential brutality committed for no understandable reason were the bars.

Though I was surrounded by two loving parents, plenty of brothers, sisters and cousins, their love could not protect me from the unholy oppression waiting just outside that family circle. Unchecked, unrestrained violence and government-sanctioned terror had the power to turn a simple stroll to the store for some Skittles or an innocent morning jog down a lonesome country road into a nightmare. If we are to survive as one unified nation, we must discover what so readily takes root in our hearts that could rob Mother Emanuel Church in South Carolina of her brightest and best, shoot unwitting concertgoers in Las Vegas and choke to death the hopes and dreams of a gifted violinist like Elijah McClain.

Like so many young people today, I was searching for a way out, or some might say a way in, and then I heard the voice of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on an old radio. He was talking about the philosophy and discipline of nonviolence. He said we are all complicit when we tolerate injustice. He said it is not enough to say it will get better by and by. He said each of us has a moral obligation to stand up, speak up and speak out. When you see something that is not right, you must say something. You must do something. Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part to help build what we called the Beloved Community, a nation and world society at peace with itself.

Ordinary people with extraordinary vision can redeem the soul of America by getting in what I call good trouble, necessary trouble. Voting and participating in the democratic process are key. The vote is the most powerful nonviolent change agent you have in a democratic society. You must use it because it is not guaranteed. You can lose it.

You must also study and learn the lessons of history because humanity has been involved in this soul-wrenching, existential struggle for a very long time. People on every continent have stood in your shoes, through decades and centuries before you. The truth does not change, and that is why the answers worked out long ago can help you find solutions to the challenges of our time. Continue to build union between movements stretching across the globe because we must put away our willingness to profit from the exploitation of others.

Though I may not be here with you, I urge you to answer the highest calling of your heart and stand up for what you truly believe. In my life I have done all I can to demonstrate that the way of peace, the way of love and nonviolence is the more excellent way. Now it is your turn to let freedom ring.

When historians pick up their pens to write the story of the 21st century, let them say that it was your generation who laid down the heavy burdens of hate at last and that peace finally triumphed over violence, aggression and war. So I say to you, walk with the wind, brothers and sisters, and let the spirit of peace and the power of everlasting love be your guide.

Orange County Eviction Diversion Program

Unicef: Why wearing a mask is important during COVID-19

The video above from Unicef highlights the importance of wearing a mask, and how bacteria and viruses are easily spread. It's a great educational tool that can be used to show children and adults on how to protect themselves during COVID-19.

For more info, please visit Unicef's webpage.

Workplace Safety

All workplaces are required to implement physical distancing, wearing of cloth face coverings, and infection control practices.

If you would like to report workplace concerns or violations anonymously, please contact the Orange County Health Department Environmental Health Team:

• (919) 245-2365 
• (919) 245-2367  (Spanish)

For more information, please visit the following links:

• English
• Spanish

North Carolina COVID-19 Cases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 120,194 COVID-19 cases, 1,903 deaths, and 1,239 hospitalizations, as of July 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 1,250 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, and 45 deaths.

Contact Information

For general questions (not urgent) about 2019 Novel Coronavirus, contact NCDHHS at: ncresponse@dhhs.nc.gov or 1-866-462-3821 to address general questions about coronavirus from the public.

If you are an individual or a medical practice with questions about COVID-19, call the Orange County Health Department at (919) 245-6111 to leave a message. This phone number is being actively monitored by staff Monday through Friday and they will promptly return your call.

Contact Kristin Prelipp
Orange County Health Department’s Public Information Officer kprelipp@orangecountync.gov 
919-245-2462

Orange County Health Department:
Web: www.orangecountync.gov/coronavirus
Phone: 919-245-2400
Email: covid19@orangecountync.gov
Facebook: Orange County Health Department
Instagram: OrangeHealthNC
Twitter: Orange Health NC
Youtube: OCHDNC