COVID-19 vaccines will now be available to healthcare workers, those 65 and older in North Carolina

Here you can find up-to-the-minute information on the coronavirus in the Piedmont Triad, North Carolina and the surrounding region.

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Live Updates:

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North Carolina passed 8,000 deaths Saturday. There are 7,986 new cases, 3,895 people are hospitalized, 8,016 people have died and the daily percent positive rate is at 11.8%.

4:30 p.m. Saturday: Forsyth County’s Dept. of Public Health says it has filled all of its online appointments. Some slots may open up if individuals cancel, or are found to be ineligible.

11:45 a.m. Saturday: North Carolina passed 8,000 deaths Saturday since the beginning of the pandemic. No new records were reported Saturday.

10:25 a.m. Saturday: The Forsyth County Public Health online appointment site is now up and running.

More than 2,000 appointments for Jan. 20 through Jan. 23 are available.

The health department is only making appointments online at this time. To schedule, click here.

9 p.m. Friday: Guilford County Schools is working to provide in-person learning opportunities for students who need help during virtual learning.

Staring in early February, all 15 traditional high schools will have learning hubs. They are supervised work sessions specifically geared toward students at risk of not graduating.

The school system will provide transportation to and from schools, as well as food for students.

“Students have a lot of unfinished learning that has happened during online instruction, said White Oakley, the chief academic officer for Guilford County Schools. “The goal here is to provide targeted support for students to make sure they’re on track for graduation.”

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NCDHHS reported 8,914 new cases, 3,916 people are hospitalized, 7,933 people have died and the daily percent positivity rate is at 11.2%.

The hubs have a soft opening now to a limited number of high schoolers, but will be fully opening in February and the goal is for them to remain post-pandemic.

8 p.m. Friday: Rockingham County announced it will be following the NCDHHS guidelines of starting vaccinations for people 65 years and older.

Vaccinations will now be made by appointments for those eligible, according to Public Health Director Trey Wright. To schedule, call 336-394-0064.

6 p.m. Friday: Novant Health tested nearly half a million people for COVID-19 since the pandemic began.It has treated nearly 10,000 COVID-19 patients. But after the holiday season led to a spike in positive cases, it said it’s running out of room.

“Our model suggests that at least for the next 14 days that we’re gonna be at about 90 and 100% bed capacity,” said Dr. David Priest, Novant’s Infectious Disease Specialist. “And again, space and the beds themselves is not the issue, it’s really the staffing issue.”

Click the link below to read more.

5:55 p.m. Friday: As North Carolina transitions into the next phase of its COVID-19 vaccine distribution, some healthcare providers are making plans for large-scale vaccination sites.

Cone Health and Novant Health will be operating large-scale vaccination sites in the Triad.

Click the link below to read more.

5:45 p.m. Friday: The Wilkes County Department of Public Health addressed concerns Friday with its rollout, so far, of the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We are only getting minimal doses a week,” said Rachel Willard, director of the Wilkes County Health Department. “I feel like it’s going, from a health department standpoint, very well, because we’re able to get vaccines into arms of those in that particular phase that we’re vaccinating at this time. But I think if you ask the public, it’s a little frustrating because we have such limited doses.”

Click the link below to read more.

5 p.m. Friday: The Guilford County Health Department received an additional 1,500 doses of the vaccination Friday, Jan. 15, and is taking appointments online only here for people who are in Phases 1 and 2 (ages 65 and older).

All Cone Health coronavirus vaccination appointments in Guilford County are currently full through the end of February.

This could change with the addition of large-scale vaccination sites, Cone Health said.

2:55 p.m. Friday: All non-emergency procedures will be suspended at Moses Cone and Wesly Long hospitals in Greensboro and at Alamance Regional Medical Center in Burlington starting Jan. 25.

This change is to help the hospitals take care of the influx of coronavirus patients.

Cone Health said all currently scheduled surgeries will still happen.

2:45 p.m. Friday: NCDHHS reported no new coronavirus records Friday.

10:35 p.m. Thursday: The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services updated their vaccination plan to include people ages 65 and older, rather than the 75 and older limit.

NCDHHS put out an updated plan which includes five vaccination groups:

• Group 1: Health care workers, long-term care facility staff and residents
• Group 2: Anyone ages 65 and older
• Group 3: Frontline essential workers
• Group 4: Adults who are high risk for exposure or severe illness
• Group 5: Everyone else in population

8:30 p.m. Thursday: The city of Greensboro is modifying its hours of operation because of the coronavirus starting Tuesday, Jan. 19.

City facilities will operate Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Residents are encouraged to avoid visiting facilities that require indoor interactions.

Greensboro trash, recycling, water and workforce development will stay on the same schedule. The police department will change the operations of its public facilities for walk-ins.

“Following the holidays, Guilford County has seen a drastic rise in COVID-19 cases and a steady climb in the positivity rate. Because of this, it is imperative we reduce our operating hours and limit exposure for both our residents and our City staff,” said City Manager David Parrish. “This allows many City employees to reduce contact and helps create a safer environment. Residents will not see any change to our services during this time, and we will continue doing everything we can to keep our residents and staff healthy and safe.”

3:45 p.m. Thursday: Guilford County Mayor Nancy Vaughan rescinded the city’s emergency declaration after the county’s approval of the Board of Health Rule regarding how to address violations of Gov. Roy Cooper’s Executive Order 176.

11 a.m. Thursday: The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced Thursday morning that it is partnering with health systems, local health departments and community health centers across the state to host large community vaccine events for people currently eligible to be vaccinated.

More than 45,000 vaccines are expected to be given through these events.

“The state will continue to support our local health departments and hospitals to get shots in arms faster,” said NCDHHS Secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen. “These partners were selected because they were able to rapidly increase the number of vaccines they could deliver as part of this effort.”

Partners were selected based on their ability to give a large number of vaccine doses or to provide access to vaccine doses to marginalized communities. NC Emergency Management and the National Guard are also providing support in some locations.

Vaccine events will be held in the following local counties:

• Forsyth County: Forsyth County Department of Public Health
• Guilford County: Cone Health

Some locations are providing the vaccine by appointment only. To learn more about the events, visit the websites of the providers listed above. Their websites can be found, listed by county, here.

Vaccine  supplies are very limited, and most people will have to wait, even if you are in one of the early phases.

9 p.m. Wednesday: With public health measures and stringent policies in place, in-person learning does not lead to the spread of the coronavirus within schools, according to Duke University.

This comes from a study done with data from school districts around the state, including several within the Triad.

“Community transmission should not influence the decision as to whether or not schools open,” said Dr. Danny Benjamin, a professor of pediatrics at Duke University. “Schools opening is simply a question of leadership. If you have strong leadership, you open and you open safely. And if you have weak leadership, you either stay closed or you open and you infect a bunch of people.”

Click the link below to read more.

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