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COVID-19NC: Hospital Cases, Nursing Home Safety & Phase 2.75?

Every Friday,  BPR's Helen Chickering talks with NC Health News founding editor Rose Hoban.  This week they discuss the latest COVID-19 metrics,  what might be on the list as the governor lifts more restrictions in his coronavirus reopening plans and a newly released federal report that spotlights deficiencies in nursing homes across the state, which have been coronavirus hot-spots.

HC: It's been a few weeks since we've talked about North Carolina COVID-19 metrics Rose. So, I want to pick your brain about the recent percent positive rate and any other metrics showing up on your radar.

RH:   Our positivity rate is continuing to creep down. I think it's really just the mask wearing our hospitalizations. Troublingly enough are not creeping down at the same rate as the positivity we're below 5% positive. So that's, you know, I feel sick. I'm going to go get tested - 5% of those people who are showing up to get tested are coming up positive. And yet our hospitalizations were down sort of consistently under a thousand hospitalizations a day, but we're still kind of hovering around that nine hundred mark.  So, you know, a thousand is a nice benchmark, but nine hundred is still a lot of darn people around the state who are in hospitals.

HC:  Nursing homes have been hotspots for outbreaks pretty much throughout the pandemic. And I heard you asking about that during Tuesday’s coronavirus briefing which ties into a story on the NC Health News website about a recent federal report, spotlighting safety violations in nursing homes.

RH: In the wake of hurricane Florence, when there were nursing homes and assisted living centers that had to be evacuated, federal investigators made surprise visits at 20 nursing homes in North Carolina in order to do an audit in late 2018, early 2019. And what they found was a real deficiency in meeting state standards in having emergency plans, plans for sheltering in place, tracking where your residents and staff are during an emergency. And it also found that our state department of health and human services was not regulating hard enough. 

HC: I also want to get your thoughts about what you think we're going to hear from the governor next week when he announces the next phase of the reopening plan. So, we're in 2.5, I'm going to dub this 2.75?

RH: So as we learn more about this virus, and as we learn, learn more about how it transmits and what people, what activities are safe and not, we'll see, you know, we'll see some changes around the edges and then it becomes this whole thing about like how much self-control do people have, how many masks they're wearing.

About Rose Hoban: 

Rose Hoban is the founder and editor of NC Health News, as well as being the state government reporter. Hoban has been a registered nurse since 1992, but transitioned to journalism after earning degrees in public health policy and journalism. She's reported on science, health, policy and research in NC since 2005. Contact: editor at northcarolinahealthnews.org

Helen Chickering is a host and reporter on Blue Ridge Public Radio. She joined the station in November 2014.