The system uses per-capita case rates, the percent of positive tests and a composite hospital score to pinpoint viral hot spots. State health officials also released additional health recommendations for individuals, business owners and public officials residing in high-risk counties.
Throughout this year’s agricultural season, migrant farmworkers have struggled to find child care for young kids who would usually spend their days in classrooms.
For the last seven years, Robin Greene has worked as a volunteer puppy raiser for the nonprofit Southeastern Guide Dogs. After relocating to Western North Carolina in March, she launched the organization’s Asheville chapter. Training a puppy amid a pandemic, she says, is extremely challenging.
Since September, nearly twice as many COVID-19 cases have been reported in rural counties as in urban or suburban areas, according to a new report from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. The majority of these rural cases have occurred in white, non-Hispanic individuals under the age of 49.
The collaborative effort is meant to quell community fears and rumors about COVID-19 in K-12 school settings, said Buncombe County Schools Superintendent Tony Baldwin. The first report, shared Nov. 5, identified eight cases across six schools.
In North Carolina, local health departments are not required to publicly post or share COVID-19 data, leaving it up to each local entity to decide if, when and how to do so. And while WNC counties are making vital pandemic-related information public, they’re not all taking the same approach.
Amid internal upheaval following the sudden departure of CEO Antony Chiang, the COVID-19 pandemic and economic uncertainty, the $1.5 billion foundation held its first annual meeting virtually on Oct. 28. Highlights included funding updates and a discussion about organizational transparency.
According to the Opportunity Insights Economic Tracker, the employment rate among Buncombe County workers making $27,000 or less per year was 30.2% lower in mid-September than at the start of 2020. By comparison, jobs making over $60,000 annually were down just 3.4% on the year.
Unable to volunteer at local nonprofits because of COVID-19, local resident Madelyn Schmidt launched her own initiative to assist those in need during the pandemic.
On Oct. 29, North Carolina set a new record for the most COVID-19 cases reported in a single day at 2,885. The following two days recorded 2,809 and 2805 new infections, respectively, both higher totals than were reported for any day prior to Oct. 29. The seven-day rolling average of cases is now over 2,200, up from about 1,800 at the start of October.
According to a presentation available before Board of Commissioners meeting on Thursday, Nov. 5, 67 lodging businesses have been delinquent in reporting or remitting occupancy taxes due March through September, with an additional 29 establishments yet to report at least one month of taxes during that period.
COVID-19 may have derailed some Halloween plans, but the pandemic also inspired one local family to take their holiday decorations to the next level.
Gov. Roy Cooper said the order would clear up legal confusion about whether an existing moratorium, issued by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, covered tenants who live outside of federally subsidized housing.
Instead of reimposing additional statewide restrictions — something Gov. Roy Cooper has repeatedly said he wants to avoid unless absolutely necessary — the governor asked local law enforcement agencies to “enhance prevention efforts.”
Marla Tambellini, Explore Asheville’s vice president of marketing, shared an industry consultant’s view that “recovery is inevitable” during the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority’s annual meeting on Oct. 20.
“People are out and about, sometimes with symptoms, putting people at risk,” said Stacie Saunders, Buncombe County’s public health director, during an Oct. 20 update to the county Board of Commissioners. “Folks are not adhering to the precautions like keeping 6 feet apart.”
Asheville native Kalesha Ruth returns to the mountains to start her own used car dealership specializing in low down payments. To her knowledge, she’s the first Black women to own a car dealership in Western North Carolina.
“We will never find peace within our hearts if we go on blaming and hating those who are different.”
For the second day in a row, North Carolina set a record for the most COVID-19 cases reported in a single day. With numbers rising both across the state and in Buncombe County, here’s what you need to know about the coronavirus as the weekend approaches.
