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TUESDAY MORNING OWNERSHIPS
Three new free COVID-19 test sites are open in Raleigh.
Marsh Creek Park, Roberts Park and Method Community Park are the three new sites that join Departure Drive Building, Radeas Labs and Swinburne Parking Lot as drive-through test sites.
Click here for more information on each location.
Health officials suggest that anyone returning from travel or vacation meetings be tested three or five days after your last contact with people outside of your bubble.
Testing at these drive-through locations is completely free and usually results in 24-48 hours.
Meanwhile, another candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine is advancing. Novavax is now the fifth company to launch a large-scale trial in the US.
This vaccine is being mass-produced in Morrisville at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Fujifilm has added 85 new jobs to Morrisville this year and the company said it wants to expand again in 2021.
Vaccines already authorized by the FDA are now distributed to residences and long-term care centers in our state.
CVS and Walgreens began vaccinating residents and staff at these facilities Monday.
Meanwhile, North Carolina reports that there are more COVID-19 patients in hospitals than ever before: 3,192. This number includes a record 733 adults in intensive care.
Despite the push to increase the number of tests performed, the positive rate continues to rise, reaching 14.7%, which is well above the state target below 5%.
The new COVID-19 metrics will be released around 12 p.m.
MONDAY
17.00 h
Stadium capacity will be adjusted to 1,500 for the final home game of the Carolina Panthers against the New Orleans Saints on January 3, 2021, the team announced Monday.
PSL owners who have purchased a ticket for the game have the option to receive a refund or apply payment to their 2021 bill. An automatic refund will apply for all purchases of single game tickets to through Ticketmaster to the same payment method used to purchase tickets within 30 days. Tickets purchased through other channels are subject to their respective policies.
16:40 h
Residents and employees to nursing homes and long-term care centers throughout North Carolina began receiving the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday.
CVS and Walgreens pharmacies administer the vaccines, but for privacy reasons, the specific sites that receive the first vaccines are not identified.
According to CVS, about 128,000 people will be vaccinated at about 900 sites over the next three months statewide.
4:13 p.m.
Congressman GK Butterfield said he received a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The North Carolina Democrat tweeted a photo of himself and said that “following CDC recommendations and the direction of the Assistant Physician’s Office, I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Although this is a critical step in crushing the virus, we must continue science – based security measures: practice social distancing. Wear a mask. “
Following CDC recommendations and the direction of the Assistant Physician’s Office, I received my first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. While this is a critical step in crushing the virus, we must continue to take science-based security measures: practicing social distancing. Wear a mask. pic.twitter.com/AFiSy8hKyY
– GK Butterfield (@GKButterfield) December 28, 2020
15:41
Wake County offers six places to do free COVID-19 testing this week and through 2021, with several places open on New Year’s Day and park locations that offer Sunday hours.
There is no cost, no appointment, no insurance and no identification. Walking is allowed.
The following locations will be open Monday through Saturday each week, including testing on Friday, January 1:
- Drive-Thru tests from Swinburne car park, 2845 Kidd Road, Raleigh, 27610, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Departure Drive Building Test Drive-thru, 5809 Departure Drive, Raleigh 27616, 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. (8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Saturdays)
- Radeas Labs Drive-thru Testing, 907 Gateway Commons Circle, Wake Forest 27587, 7:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Starting Tuesday, Wake County will offer free trials at three parks in the city of Raleigh:
- Roberts Park, 1300 St. Martin, Raleigh, 27610
- Marsh Creek Park, 3050 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh, 27604
- Method Community Park, 514 Method Road, Raleigh, 27607
The tests in all the places of the park are the following:
- Tuesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Wednesday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Friday-Sunday, January 1-3 WITHOUT TESTS
- Monday, Jan. 4, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Tuesday to Saturday, January 5-9, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Sunday, January 10, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Check here for the latest test times and locations.
14:53 h
The Lee County Government Department of Health confirmed 218 new cases of COVID-19 since last Monday for a total of 3,401 cases of COVID-19.
13:14 h
The Halifax County Health Department reports a new death and 145 new cases of COVID-19.
Across the county there have been 45 deaths and 2,628 19 positive COVID cases.
11:50 h
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 3,888 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, the second day of daily increases of less than 4,000. These figures are abnormally low, however, the number of tests performed over the last two days is also abnormally low. This is probably due to lower processing volumes during the holidays.
Hospitalizations, on the other hand, set a new record on Monday with 3,192.
366 patients confirmed with COVID-19 were admitted to hospitals in the last 24 hours. 286 suspicious patients were admitted in the same time period.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in the ICU also recorded a record Monday with 733. Last Monday there were 686 patients with COVID-19 in the ICU.
84% of hospitalized patients are over 50 years old. However, most cases (40%) are between 25 and 49 years old.
6:20 am
The Transportation Security Administration announced it was examining more than a million people the day after Christmas.
The day after Christmas was the second busiest day since the pandemic began. The busiest day was the day before Christmas, when the TSA examined 1,191,123 people.
The daily figures for this holiday period are about half the number of travelers examined on the same day in 2019.
TSA figures come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges Americans to stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
As cases continue to rise as a result of Thanksgiving-related travel, health experts warn that a similar increase is likely to occur in a couple of weeks due to the end-of-year holiday-related trip.
Headlines Monday morning
Residents of North Carolina’s nursing homes and long-term care centers will begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine Monday.
CVS and Walgreens are organizing the vaccines, but for privacy reasons, they do not first identify the specific sites that will receive the shots.
We know that CVS administers vaccines to nearly 900 North Carolina facilities and more than 40,000 nationwide, as of Monday. The group expects to vaccinate up to 4 million residents and staff members.
CVS said it will begin offering the vaccine to the general public next year.
Meanwhile, North Carolina’s COVID-19 metrics remain at record or near levels.
To date, more than half a million people have tested positive for the virus in North Carolina, with at least 6,549 people killed. Updated numbers will be published around noon.
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