On March 26, 2020 Gov. Roy Cooper and fellow state officials held a call with the League and more than 2,000 local government officials to brief everyone at once on the latest with the COVID-19 response. During the call, a chat window allowed the local officials to submit questions. The following us a roundup of questions asked with answers from the state.
Q&A
Can you speak to the number of hospital beds we have, how we might increase that number and do we have an approximate timeframe we expect to exceed our bed capacity?
"We have worked with our hospital and health care partners to stand up a statewide reporting system to track resources. We hope to be able to validate the system and provide public facing data soon. We will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 closely using a variety of tools normally used to track influenza that have been adapted for this response. This includes testing of samples from a network of clinical sites around the state and tracking of emergency department visits and other healthcare data. More information can be found here:
http://www.ncdhhs.gov/covid-19-case-count-nc."
How many deaths has NC had due to the corona virus? If any, how many had other health issues?
Are we looking at providing additional small business support with the sharp drop in their sales?
"We've worked closely with our congressional delegation on the package that has now passed the U.S. Senate, and that has a great deal of support for Small Businesses, including $10,000 grants and access to forgivable loans. As we continue to understand the impact of those programs on small businesses, we'll also work with our state legislature to address additional need."
How do you know 20% (of infected individuals) will need hospitalization?
"The 20% figure requiring hospitalization comes from a
World Health Organization (WHO) report, which is based on international data on lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19. According to the report “Most people infected with COVID-19 virus have mild disease and recover. Approximately 80% of laboratory confirmed patients have had mild to moderate disease, which includes non-pneumonia and pneumonia cases, 13.8% have severe disease (dyspnea, respiratory frequency ≥30/minute, blood oxygen saturation ≤93%, PaO2/FiO2 ratio <300, and/or lung infiltrates >50% of the lung field within 24-48 hours) and 6.1% are critical (respiratory failure, septic shock, and/or multiple organ dysfunction/failure).”
What guidance do you have for holding Town Council meetings electronically?
"Public bodies are permitted to meet electronically under 143-318.13. For these purposes, we believe that a "location" is satisfied by the electronic means for public participation. If municipal attorneys have question, we'd encourage them to work with NCLM to help find solutions. The UNC School of Government also has some resources that can be helpful, including
this blog."
What is the limiting factor in scaling up our health care system? Is it beds? Ventilators, respirators? Physical space? Money? People?
"We have worked with our hospital and health care partners to stand up a statewide reporting system to track resources. We hope to be able to validate the system and provide public facing data soon. We will continue to monitor the spread of COVID-19 closely using a variety of tools normally used to track influenza that have been adapted for this response. This includes testing of samples from a network of clinical sites around the state and tracking of emergency department visits and other healthcare data. Supplies have been challenging to obtain because of limits in supply chains nationally and internationally.
Any plans to institute mandatory shelter in place?
"Governor Cooper issued a statewide stay at home Executive Order on March 27th that can be found
here."
At the state level, is there any guidance on short term rentals and hotels as many communities are taking independent action?
"Governor Cooper issued a statewide stay at home Executive Order on March 27th that can be found
here. Hotels and motels are considered essential businesses under this order."
With the President in talks with wanting to “loosen” the standards for people to possibly go back to work by April, how will this work for us in North Carolina with our cases growing?
"For North Carolina, Governor Cooper’s
Executive Order 120 set tighter limits on gatherings and extended school closures statewide to May 15, 2020. The order also closed some businesses that require close social interaction and limited visitors to long-term care centers through April 24th. Additional guidance on the order can be found
here."
Do you anticipate the deadline for local governments to approve budget to be extended beyond June 30, 2020 this year?
"We will be working with the General Assembly on policy and budget measures that might be needed to help North Carolina recover from this crisis."
