New State Orders Begin This Evening
(Raleigh, NC) -- North Carolina is entering a modified stay-at-home order beginning at five this afternoon. Most businesses will be required to close by 10 p.m., while alcohol sales by-the-drink will end at nine each night. Residents are also being advised to remain under curfew between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m. Another 55-hundred new COVID-19 cases were reported by state public health officials yesterday.
WNC To Received Thousands Of COVID-19 Vaccine Doses
(Asheville, NC) -- Several thousand initial doses of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine are coming to western North Carolina. Mission Health is expected to receive close to three-thousand, while the rest are going to Pardee Hospital in Hendersonville. A Health and Human Services spokesperson told the Citizen-Times that nearly 86-thousand doses in total are being shipped to the state next week.
Asheville Pre-K Program May Freeze Enrollment
(Asheville, NC) -- The size of Asheville city's Pre-K program may soon freeze. The school district is moving preschoolers and the Asheville Primary School out of their Haywood Road building for repairs and renovations. New enrollments in Pre-K may be limited depending on the actual size of the classrooms the program moves into. Three preschool classrooms still remain in place at Hall Fletcher, Isaac Dickson and Ira B. Jones elementary schools.
New COVID-19 Testing Lab Opening In Buncombe
(Asheville, NC) -- A new diagnostic lab in Buncombe County will process COVID-19 tests completed in western North Carolina. Dogwood Health Trust and Sanesco International have partnered together to open CommunityLab, which is expected to create more than two-dozen jobs. A Dogwood board member told WLOS-TV they knew there needed to be a homegrown solution after they saw difficulty receiving fast and reliable testing in the region.
Buncombe Four Detention Officers Test Positive For Coronavirus
(Buncombe County, NC) -- The Buncombe County Sheriff's Office is tracking a COVID-19 outbreak among detention officers. WLOS-TV reports four officers have recently tested positive. Another ten employees are staying out of work in quarantine. No detainees have tested positive at this time.
Asheville Warming Center To Re-Open
(Asheville, NC) -- Homeward Bound's Warming Center in Asheville is set to re-open Monday after some COVID-19 confusion. The homeless coalition initially decided to close the center through Christmas when results from a community testing showed potential outbreak this week. The initial results from rapid antigen testing showed a good number of positive results. A follow-up with PCR testing determined there were actually no signs of infection.
Rock Hill Okays Panthers' Headquarters Plans
(Rock Hill, SC) -- The Carolina Panthers' new headquarters in Rock Hill is a go. The Rock Hill City Council approved the proper zoning and the development plan for the massive project yesterday. The organization unveiled renderings of the plans during a specially called meeting. A practice facility is also part of the project, which is expected to be completed in 2023.
Meck Jail On Lockdown Due To COVID-19 Outbreak
(Mecklenburg County, NC) -- The Mecklenburg County Detention Center is on lockdown due to a COVID-19 outbreak. The sheriff's office confirmed 107 inmates and 20 staff members had tested positive as of yesterday. No visitors will be allowed for the next couple of days. All of those in custody will also remain in isolation during contact tracing.
One Dead, One Injured In North Charlotte Shooting
(Charlotte, NC) -- The CMPD is investigating a deadly double shooting. Officers found a man dead early Thursday morning at the Hunter Pointe apartment complex on Prospect Drive in north Charlotte. Someone else injured in the shooting later showed up at the hospital. There's no word if any suspects have been charged.
Panthers' Thompson Nominated For NFL Man Of Year
(Charlotte, NC) -- Shaq Thompson is the Carolina Panthers' nominee for the NFL's Man of the Year Award. The linebacker was instrumental in donating meals to frontline workers early in the pandemic, while also leading the team in discussions with the CMPD about social unrest. The league is donating 40-thousand-dollars to the charity of Thompson's choice due to his nomination. Thompson is also leading the team with 87 tackles this season.
Charlotte Woman Wins One-Million-Dollars From Scratch-Off
(Charlotte, NC) -- There's another million-dollar lottery ticket in Charlotte. Two tickets purchase in Concord and Mooresville have won big in the Mega Millions game since Thanksgiving. This time, it was a Power Tens scratch-off ticket that was a million-dollar winner. Connie Lockhart claimed her prize on Wednesday after purchasing the winner at the Den's Mart on The Plaza.
First Vaccine Shipment Could Arrive In North Carolina By Next Week
(Raleigh, NC) -- With formal FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine now one step closer, 53 North Carolina hospitals are gearing up to start the first phase of distribution. This after an FDA committee, made up of infectious disease experts, doctors and scientists, recommended on Thursday that Emergency Use Authorization be granted for widespread distribution of the Pfizer drug. North Carolina is set to receive over 85-thousand doses, possibly as early as next week.
53-Hospitals Chosen Where Needs Were Deemed Most Critical
(Raleigh, NC) -- State Health Officer Dr. Mandy Cohen says the 53 North Carolina hospitals that will receive the first shipments of the vaccine were chosen based on the number of beds, the number of health care workers in direct contact with COVID-19 patients and county population. The hospitals were also selected based on the number of Ultra Cold Freezers needed in order to store the vaccines at around 94-degrees below zero.
Record Number Of COVID-19 Patients In The Hospital Thursday
(Raleigh, NC) -- Data released by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services showed the single-day total for hospitalizations Thursday reached the highest level on record. The two-thousand-444 figure was four more than the previous record set on Wednesday. North Carolina's positivity rate remained at 10-point-five-percent. The Department reported a drop of 939 confirmed new cases of the coronavirus yesterday, down to five-thousand-556. There were also 53 additional COVID-19-related deaths.
Nearly All GOP House Members Support Texas AG Lawsuit
(Raleigh, NC) -- Six-of the-nine Republican members of the North Carolina Congressional Delegation have announced their support of a Texas lawsuit challenging the results of the presidential election in four states. The six joined 94 other Republican House members in signing an amicus brief in asking the Justices of the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate the votes casts in Georgia, Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. The lawsuit claims the four states unconstitutionally changed election rules.
Cooper Announces 13-Million Dollar Grant For Rural Infrastructure Projects
(Raleigh, NC) -- Governor Roy Cooper on Thursday announced the awarding of nearly 13-million dollars in grants for rural infrastructure projects. The grant, which is funded by the North Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority, was given in response to requests from 30 different rural cities and municipalities across the state. Once the projects are completed, the rural communities are expected to attract more than 500-million dollars in private investments.
Teens In Custody In Death Of Winston-Salem Man
(Winston-Salem, NC) -- Two juveniles are in custody in connection with the deadly shooting of a 19-year-old Winston-Salem man. Jalen Claboine was shot during an attempted robbery while he was in his car on Gilmer Avenue this past September. One 15-year-old is accused of murder, and the other 15-year-old is charged with accessory after the fact. An investigation is ongoing.
Two Teen Girls Vanish From Clemmons Area
(Clemmons, NC) -- Forsyth County sheriff's deputies are looking for two teen girls who vanished from the Clemmons area. Seventeen-year-olds Jada Rucker and Rebecca Tase were last seen on Wednesday in the 66-hundred-block of Valley Oak Drive. Rucker is described as black and about five-feet, six-inches tall, and Tase is white and about five-feet-four inches tall. Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call the sheriff's office.
Duke Cancels Remaining Non-Conference Games
(Durham, NC) -- The Duke men's basketball team is canceling its remaining non-conference games. The school announced previously postponed games against Charleston Southern and Elon will not be rescheduled, and their final non-conference showdown with Gardner-Webb on December 19th is also off. Duke says the move is out of an abundance of caution due to COVID-19 and will also allow players to spend time with their families during the holidays. The Blue Devils are just 2-and-2 on the season.