Governor Roy Cooper will hold a COVID-19 update briefing today at 3 p.m., in advance of the expiration of his latest executive order on Friday.
You may watch the Governor’s briefing on UNC-TV, channel 3, or live-stream it at:
Emergency Management Press Conferences | UNC-TV
North Carolina is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases, with the number of new cases reported last Saturday and Sunday exceeding 6,000. Yesterday’s new case count dropped to 4,372, but case counts usually decline on Monday.
COVID-19-related hospitalizations statewide also have increased dramatically this month, topping 2,000 for the past seven days. The daily positivity rate, which reflects the percentage of positive COVID-19 test results among the tests administered during a 24-hour period, has been consistently above 10 percent for the past week.
Five percent is the target goal for this metric, according to Dr. Mandy Cohen, Secretary of the N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services.
The Governor is expected today to extend the “pause” in Phase Three of North Carolina’s reopening, known as “safer-at-home,” for at least another two weeks and to discuss tightening restrictions on businesses and public gatherings. He has repeatedly said that he does not wish to “go backward” and to reimpose stay-at-home restrictions that were imposed in the springtime, but he has not ruled out doing so.
The Governor and Dr. Cohen typically speak at their COVID-19 update briefings for about 10 to 15 minutes and then take questions from the media for about 30 minutes.
Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 12/8/20
The Southern Shores Beacon 