Emergency Preparedness and Response:
February 24, 2021 |
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Teachers are Eligible for Vaccination Governor Roy Cooper announced Feb. 10 that childcare workers, educators and school personnel in pre-K through grade 12, including private and charter schools, will be eligible to receive a COVID vaccine beginning Feb. 24. Other frontline essential workers listed in Group 3 will become eligible Mar. 10.
Who are frontline essential workers?
Group 3 is made up of “frontline essential workers” such as teachers, grocery workers, restaurant workers, postal employees, firefighters, bus drivers and those that perform essential tasks, are public facing or have close contact with other people, and have to leave home to work.
There are many places to be vaccinated in and around Orange County, not just the Orange County Health Department. Please visit the OCHD vaccine website for a list.
NCDHHS maintains a list of all the vaccination sites in North Carolina: https://myspot.nc.gov
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Winter Weather SafetyLarge sections of the United States are struggling with extreme cold, snow, ice, and high winds. If extreme winter weather is affecting your area, follow the tips below to help keep you and your family safe. If you must leave your home, listen to state and local officials to learn about warming centers as well as storm warnings and road conditions.
Protect yourself from deadly carbon monoxide poisoningCarbon monoxide (CO) poisoning can lead to serious illness or death. CO is produced by furnaces, vehicles, portable generators, stoves, lanterns, gas ranges, and burning wood. Don’t heat your house with a gas oven or burn anything in a stove or fireplace that is not vented. If your power goes out, never use a generator, charcoal grill, camp stove, or other gasoline- or charcoal-burning device inside your home, basement, or garage. If using any of these devices, make sure they are always outside, 20 feet or more away from windows, doors, and vents.
Other safety tips include- Never run a car or truck inside a garage attached to your house, even if you leave the garage door open.
- Seek prompt medical attention if you feel dizzy, light-headed, or nauseated and suspect CO poisoning.
- If you have a CO detector, leave your home immediately and call 911 if it sounds.
Do not siphon gasoline by mouth to fuel your generator. Accidental ingestion can cause serious illness or death. Contact your local poison center (1-800-222-1222) for advice if you or someone you know has experienced gasoline exposure.
Protect yourself from the cold
CDC also recommends that you take precautions when spending time outdoors. Wear appropriate outdoor clothing and be aware of the wind chill factor. Dress warmly and stay dry, wearing multiple layers. Before going out, check weather reports, tell someone where you are going, and keep your cell phone charged. Learn how to avoid, spot, and treat hypothermia and frostbite.
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is an abnormally low body temperature caused by prolonged exposure to cold. Hypothermia often occurs at very cold temperatures, but can occur at cool temperatures (above 40°F), if a person is wet (from rain, sweat or cold water) and becomes chilled. In adults, warning signs of hypothermia include shivering, exhaustion or feeling very tired, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech, and drowsiness. In babies, signs include bright red, cold skin, and very low energy. If you notice any of these signs, take the person’s temperature. If it is below 95° F, the situation is an emergency—get medical attention immediately.
Frostbite
Frostbite is a type of injury caused by freezing. It can lead to a loss of feeling and color in the areas it affects, usually the nose, ears, cheeks, chin, fingers, and toes. Signs of frostbite include a white or grayish-yellow skin area, skin that feels unusually firm or waxy, and numbness. If you notice signs of frostbite, seek medical care.
This winter, don't forget COVID-19 precautions
During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, CDC continues to advise precautions to keep yourself and others healthy.- If you go into a public building or warming shelter to stay warm, wear a mask and bring hand sanitizer. Stay at least 6 feet from others.
- Scarves, ski masks, and balaclavas are not a substitute for masks. Wear your scarf, ski mask, or balaclava over your mask. If it is too cold to safely open doors or windows, consider other approaches for reducing virus particles in the air, such as using air filtration and bathroom and stove exhaust fans.
Other ways to protect yourself and your familyElectric space heaters
If you use an electric space heater, use one with an automatic shut-off switch and non-glowing elements. Make sure it is at least 3 feet away from drapes, furniture, or bedding. Never cover your space heater. Never place a space heater on top of furniture or near water. Never leave children unattended near a space heater. Make sure that the cord of an electric space heater is not a tripping hazard but do not run the cord under carpets or rugs. Avoid using extension cords to plug in your space heater. If your space heater has a damaged electrical cord or produces sparks, do not use it.
Water
Extreme cold can cause water pipes in your home to freeze and sometimes rupture or break. When you are expecting very cold or freezing temperatures:- Leave all water taps slightly open so they drip continuously.
- Allow heated air to reach pipes. For example, open cabinet doors beneath the kitchen and bathroom sinks.
Food
If the power is out for less than 4 hours, then the food in your refrigerator and freezer will be safe to consume. While the power is out, keep the refrigerator and freezer doors closed as much as possible to keep food cold for longer.
Medicine
Some drugs require refrigeration to keep their strength, including many liquid drugs.- When the power is out for a day or more, throw away any medication that should be refrigerated unless the drug’s label says otherwise.
- If a life depends on the refrigerated drug, but the medications have been at room temperature, use them only until a new supply is available.
- Replace all refrigerated drugs as soon as possible.
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In this June 27, 1985, file photo, Nina Simone performs at Avery Fisher Hall in New York. Rene Perez AP |
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Synopsis: The world knew her as Nina Simone, but North Carolina first knew her as Eunice Kathleen Waymon, born in Tryon on February 21, 1933. Eunice showed a gift for the piano at an early age, and dreamed of becoming a concert pianist. She spent the summer of 1950 at Julliard (paid for with money raised by her community), but was denied entry to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. (She suspected it was because of her race.) Her shift from classical to popular music was purely one of financial necessity, and she took the stage name Nina Simone to hide her work in nightclubs from her Methodist minister mother. She released her first album, “Little Blue Girl,” in 1958, and her life changed forever. She performed everywhere from the Apollo Theater to “The Ed Sullivan Show” to Carnegie Hall. She came to be called “the High Priestess of Soul,” but her music drew from many styles, including classical, jazz, blues, gospel and popular music, and covering every genre from protest songs to romantic pop standards and Broadway tunes.
Impact: Simone wasn’t merely popular, her music had purpose. Her songwriting in the 1960s conveyed a strong social message, as she became active in the civil rights movement and grew closer to artists like Langston Hughes and James Baldwin. Among her most well-known songs is one she wrote after the Birmingham bombings in 1963, “Mississippi Goddam” (1964). The protest song, composed in under an hour, was selected in 2019 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Simone died at her home in France on April 21, 2003. Other great artists: The most difficult part of this section is not having the space to include more people. Here are just a few influential African American artists with North Carolina ties.
- Jazz saxophone legend John Coltrane was born in Hamlet and grew up in High Point. Another jazz great, composer and pianist Thelonious Monk, was born in Rocky Mount, but left the South with his family when he was 5 years old.
- Durham native Betty Mabry Davis and Kannapolis native George Clinton are considered two of the most important funk musicians in American history.
- Five members of the James Brown Band — Maceo and Melvin Parker, Dick Knight, Nat Jones and Levi Raspberry — are from Kinston, which is sometimes referred to as “the birthplace of funk.”
- Blues guitarist Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten, born near Chapel Hill, was highly influential and known for her signature playing style, which came to be called “Cotten picking.” Her songs, such as “Freight Train,” have been covered by folk musicians Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Jerry Garcia, Doc Watson and Peter, Paul and Mary.- Durham native Shirley Caesar, an 11-time Grammy winner, is considered the “First Lady of Gospel Music.”
- Fayetteville’s J. Cole was the first hip-hop artist in 25 years to go double platinum without any guest features with his Grammy-nominated album “2014 Forest Hills Drive.”
- Winston-Salem’s 9th Wonder, born Patrick Denard Douthit, is one of the most influential hip-hop producers in the world. In 2007, he was named Artist-in-Residence at NC Central University in Durham.
- Thomas Day, a Virginia native who came to North Carolina as a teenager in 1817, was a free Black furniture craftsman whose work was not only highly sought after during his time, but is studied and displayed in museums today.
- Willie Otey Kay, a Raleigh native and Shaw University graduate, was a renowned dressmaker and entrepreneur whose work — which spanned more than six decades — has been displayed in museums. One of her gowns was featured on the cover of Life magazine in 1951.- Poet and writer Maya Angelou was born in St. Louis but made her home in North Carolina for more than 30 years, starting with a professorship at Wake Forest University in 1982. She lived in Winston-Salem until her death in 2014. Angelou is best known for her memoir “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” and for her poem “On the Pulse of Morning,” which she read at the first presidential inauguration of Bill Clinton in 1993.
- Debra Austin, the first African American female principal dancer of a major American ballet company, was not born or raised in North Carolina, but she currently serves as the ballet master for the Carolina Ballet in Raleigh.
To learn more
Read: The NC Arts Council website’s African American Music Trails of North Carolina (www.ncarts.org/aamt/african-american-music-trail) has information about North Carolina’s Black musicians.
Watch: The 2015 documentary “What Happened, Miss Simone?” by Liz Garbus.Read: A timeline of Nina Simone’s work and press coverage at NinaSimone.com.
Read: “Step It Up & Go: The Story of North Carolina Popular Music” by David Menconi. |
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Pro Tip on Improving Mask FitMany headlines focus on 'double-masking.' What’s most important is how your mask fits!
In this video, Dr. Emily Sickbert-Bennett, Director of Infection Prevention at UNC Hospitals, shares a pro tip for improving the fit of an earloop mask.
Additional recommendations for improving mask fit is available here.
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Free Rides to Vaccination SitesGoTriangle is offering free shared rides to and from COVID-19 vaccination sites within our service area for those who have vaccination appointments.
Please call 919-485-7582 at least 24 hours in advance to schedule your ride to the site and when you are ready to be taken home from the site. Please note that you may be sharing rides with others and that masks and social distancing are required.
When you call to schedule your ride, please have proof of appointment and name of vaccination center ready. Let us know if you have any special ride requirements.
https://gotriangle.org/covid-19-updates-0 |
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Are you ready to QUIT tobacco?
Every year 483,500 people die in the United States from smoking related illnesses. The class will help you to make a plan to quit for good. This free virtual Freshstart class begins on March 2nd and will continue for 4 weeks. Participants will get FREE patches, gum and lozenges to aid in the effort.
To register, call Rita Krosner at 919-245-2424 or email smokefreeoc@orangecountync.gov. |
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Environmental Health Contest
Show your love and appreciation for the many local businesses have gone above and beyond to keep their customers and employees safe during the pandemic. The last day to vote for your favorite business is February 28th!
https://www.orangecountync.gov/641/Environmental-Health
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 849,630 COVID-19 cases, 11,074 deaths, and 1,530 hospitalizations.
1,359,153 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 779,122 people have completed their series.
There are currently 7,623 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 93 deaths in Orange County. 26,513 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 17,347 have completed their vaccine series.
For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every day around 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.
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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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