Collapse of tourism and leisure economies devastating to Buncombe, Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
![](https://mountainx.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020CovidRestaurants11-scaled-330x222.jpg)
Collapse of tourism and leisure economies devastating to Buncombe, Brunswick and New Hanover counties.
The free SlowCOVIDNC app uses Bluetooth technology to let users know if they’ve been in close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, speeding up notifications of potential exposure.
Buncombe County must submit a detailed application for up to $900,000 in federal grant funding that will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. Rachel Nygaard, the county’s director of strategic partnerships, said residents should weigh in on the county’s plan as soon as possible.
The county, North Carolina’s seventh-most populous, was fifth on the state’s list of counties by number of pandemic-related first-time unemployment insurance claimants in April. Of those claims, 21.7% were from workers in the leisure and hospitality industries, while 15.6% were from the trade, transportation and utilities sector.
Buncombe County and the Asheville Metropolitan Statistical Area, once again, are situated at the lowest end of the scale when it comes to statewide unemployment rates — (and that’s a good thing).