Governor Roy Cooper statement at a press conference today:

“Good afternoon, thank you for joining. We wanted to share some critical updates on North Carolina’s efforts to fight COVID-19. As of today, North Carolina has 3,426 confirmed positive cases and, sadly, 53 deaths.

“Overnight, test results revealed a hotspot of transmission in Orange County. A series of tests for COVID-19 has revealed at least 60 positive results in a skilled nursing facility in Orange County with more likely to come. Of those, seven are hospitalized and two have died. These are shockingly large numbers, and I wanted to share information about what the state is doing to control and combat outbreaks at long-term care facilities to protect the residents and staff.

“We are tracking these outbreaks closely because we know that by nature they can be hard to control. And we are taking steps to safeguard people.

“First, we must do everything possible to prevent an outbreak. My earlier executive order has restricted visitors to these facilities, and DHHS guidance suggests that workers wear protective gear and monitor their own health. Direct guidance on closing shared living spaces and sanitation are also in effect. Dr. Mandy Cohen has and will issue additional directives that she will talk about in a minute.

“Second, we have accumulated enough testing supplies to respond quickly and aggressively to test and assess patients and staff. This is important because we know that this virus can spread even before a person is showing symptoms like a fever or cough. This increased testing will tell us which employees or residents may have the virus but aren’t showing symptoms so they can be isolated.

“Third, we must take immediate action to stop the spread of COVID-19 in this facility and others. In coordination with local and state health departments, facilities that have residents with the virus will group them in a separate area to make sure they are cared for by a separate group of staff.

“This will prevent interactions with residents and staff that are not COVID-19 positive. As our concern has grown about long-term care facilities, NCDHHS has added data to its public dashboard.

“One of the items being tracked and shared is the number of outbreaks at congregate living facilities – nursing homes, residential care facilities, and correctional institutions. These cases highlight the importance of our work to get more hospital beds and the medical workers to staff them.

“Yesterday, I mentioned several upcoming executive orders. One of those will be signed today. That order allows more health care providers into the system, puts to use the equipment and other resources that otherwise would lie dormant, and transfers medical resources where they can be most effective and save the most lives. The order also increases the number of hospital beds that may be needed for this crisis.

“In addition, the order streamlines guidelines on child care facilities and staff to make sure the children of our most essential workers can be cared for while these brave parents work.

“Finally, I encourage everyone to follow our Stay At Home order. This pandemic has shown us how interconnected our society truly is.

“Going out for a non-essential reason may feel harmless to you if you’re not having symptoms, but if you have the virus, you could set off a chain reaction unknowingly by passing the virus off to even just a handful of people. They will pass it on to more people. And so on. Or if you go out and don’t have the virus, you could easily pick it up.

“Eventually, it could afflict a nursing home. Or a friend or relative who is already sick with an underlying condition. The more we Stay At Home, the more lives we save. It’s that simple.”

NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen’s statement:

“As the Governor shared, we’ve seen a number of outbreaks in congregate settings. Currently, there are 21 outbreaks across the state, meaning two or more people have tested positive in a congregate setting. 18 of those outbreaks are in long-term care settings.

“We have been working with our partners – the industry associations, our local health departments & the facilities – on their prevention and response actions. We already issued an earlier executive order which limited all visitors except in extreme end-of-life situations.

“We will also codify additional directives to help prevent further outbreaks. Going forward, we will require: • All nursing home staff to wear masks when interacting with patients to prevent the inadvertent spread of disease.

• Require all facilities to close communal areas & restrict all non-essential personnel.

”Additionally, if an outbreak happens –quick and aggressive action must happen. Facilities should immediately implement testing and assessment of residents to determine the spread of disease. And residents with COVID-19 should be grouped in a separate area of the facility and make sure they are cared for by a separate group of staff so that there are no interactions with residents or staff that are not COVID-positive.

“This is hard work. I want to thank the public health teams and particularly those working in these long-term care facilities. What you do is so important. You are on the front line combatting the spread of this virus and we thank you for it.

“I know this is particularly hard this week as folks look forward to Easter. This year has to be different to protect one another. Please keep your families and loved ones safe by staying home and finding new ways to connect. It's my sincerest hope that all who celebrate have a meaningful holiday.

“Please stay home to save lives.”

Director of Emergency Management Mike Sprayberry’s statement:

“Today is day 30 of the State Emergency Operations Center activation for the COVID-19 response. 65 counties have activated local emergency operations centers. All 100 counties and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians have declared states of emergency.

“We are continuing our work to source and order personal protective equipment. We are seeing some small signs that the supply chain is improving, but the market remains extremely difficult.

“We did receive a shipment of 200,000 N-95 masks today. From our very limited supply of personal protective equipment, we are filling resource requests in small, short-term quantities for the most urgent needs around the state.

“Yesterday, we received word that the costs of activating National Guard resources to support our state’s COVID-19 response will be covered by the federal government. That’s good news.

“We currently have about 240 National Guard airmen and soldiers working a variety of missions, including planning, warehousing, and shipping, cyber-security, and engineering. We have National Guard liaisons deploying to local emergency operations centers in 10 counties to help with supply management and information sharing.

“Engineers from the North Carolina National Guard and US Army Corps of Engineers continue to assess facilities around the state for possible use as overflow hospital space.

“I want to say a word about food again today. Shelves at many of the state’s food banks are close to bare. Many people have lost work and lost income, and are relying on food banks to get groceries. Please consider a financial contribution or a donation of shelf-stable foods to your local food bank. You can donate money online. Visit http://feedingthecarolinas.org to find the website of a food bank near you.

“And remember - a trip to a food bank to get or give food, or to volunteer, is not considered a violation of the Stay At Home order. Also – our partners at Crisis Cleanup, who normally help coordinate cleanup services after storms, are now coordinating meal delivery to senior citizens and others at high risk.

“Visit http://coronacommunity.org for more information and to sign up for meals delivered to your home by a volunteer. Depending on the provider, there may be a charge to cover the cost of the meal, if you are able. The call specialists for NC 2-1-1 are doing a great job helping people with information about food, utilities, child care, and other needs. They are taking thousands of calls a day and lines are sometimes busy. If you call 2-1-1 and get a busy signal, simply wait a while and try your call again.

“For twice daily information updates on Coronavirus, you don’t have to call – just text COVIDNC to 898211. You can get texts in English or Spanish. Don’t forget to call your loved ones daily, look out for friends and neighbors and be kind. With your help, we will get through this together, as one team, one mission, one family.”