COVID-19 Updates: September 9, 2020 |
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Orange County Press Release |
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MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Kristin Prelipp, Communications Manager and Public Information Officer
kprelipp@orangecountync.gov or 919-245-2462
LINK TO MEDIA RELEASE
Orange County, North Carolina Takes Another Step Forward in Reopening
HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. September 4, 2020 ? Following the state’s lead, Orange County will move into Governor Roy Cooper’s Phase 2.5 of the statewide reopening plan at 5 p.m. today, Sept. 4, with a few exceptions.
The county has amended its state of emergency declaration to align with the state plan except on mass gathering limits and the expiration date. State restrictions under Executive Order 163 will remain in effect in Orange County through Oct. 31 despite the state expiration date of Oct. 2.
In Orange County, the limit on mass gatherings will remain at 10 people indoors and 25 outdoors. This limit will be reconsidered when the county’s positivity rate for COVID tests decreases to 5%. It is currently at almost 10%, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).
“We need the community to partner with us in order to get the positivity rate down to 5% for a sustained amount of time,” said Penny Rich, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. “Any indoor and outdoor gatherings still require strict adherence to the three Ws: Wear a face covering over your mouth and nose, wait 6 feet away from people who are not members of your household, and wash your hands regularly.”
Playgrounds opening Sept. 11
In Orange County, the opening of playgrounds will occur Sept. 11 to allow staff in the county and towns of Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Hillsborough time to prepare the areas for use. Some maintenance had been deferred due to the COVID-19 closure and reduced staffing levels. This administrative decision of the county and municipalities on the opening date was recommended by parks and recreation managers throughout the county.
The following amenities will reopen the morning of Sept. 11: - Playgrounds
- Picnic shelter reservations, up to a maximum of 25 people per reservation
- Bocce court (Chapel Hill)
- Dog park (Carrboro)
- Pump track (Carrboro)
- Sand volleyball courts for 2 versus 2 play (Chapel Hill)
- Doubles play at public tennis and pickleball courts
Parks and trails have been open since late May. Also open are outdoor restrooms, disc golf courses, skate parks, most dog parks, and tennis and pickleball courts. Some indoor recreation facilities have reopened for scheduled programs (while adhering to strict safety and exposure control protocol), and some have remained closed. Limited lap and recreational swimming opportunities are available. Organized league play will continue to be suspended at the courts. Also remaining closed will be athletic fields, outdoor basketball courts, and public gymnasiums. Safer at Home Phase 2.5With the exception of stricter local orders in Orange County and elsewhere in the state, Phase 2.5 of the governor’s statewide COVID-19 restrictions means: - Mass gathering limits will increase to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors. (In Orange County, limits of 10 people indoors and 25 people outdoors will continue.)
- Playgrounds may open. (This will occur Sept. 11 in Orange County.)
- Museums and aquariums may open at 50% capacity.
- Gyms and indoor exercise facilities may open at 30% capacity. This includes yoga studios, martial arts, rock climbing, skating rinks, bowling alleys, and indoor basketball and volleyball.
- The age requirement for wearing masks will be lowered to require masks for ages 5 and older.
- Remaining closed will be bars, nightclubs, movie theaters, indoor entertainment facilities, amusement parks and dance halls.
- Large venues will remain subject to the mass gatherings limit.
The governor also has extended an 11 p.m. curfew on alcohol sales at restaurants to Oct. 2. Through the current amendment of its state of emergency declaration, Orange County’s curfew on alcohol sales will align with the state’s curfew of 11 p.m., effective today and continuing through Oct. 31. In addition, NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen has issued a secretarial order allowing for outdoor visitation at nursing homes or skilled nursing facilities. Nursing homes must meet several requirements, including: - Not having a current outbreak.
- Having a testing plan and updated written infection control or preparedness plan for COVID-19.
- Having adequate personal protective equipment.
Current data indicates that risk of transmission in outdoor settings is lower compared to indoor settings. The continued use of technology to keep families connected as much as possible is still highly encouraged. The secretarial order is effective at 5 p.m. today and remains in effect through Sept. 22. Related Documents What’s New in Phase 2.5? ( PDF) English: https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12740/phase_25_english_sept4Spanish (coming soon, will be available here) Chinese coming soon, will be available here) Secretarial Order No. 3 Visitation for Nursing Homes: https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/Secretarial-Order-3.pdfExecutive Order No. 163: https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/EO163-New-Phase-2.5.pdf FAQ for Executive Order No. 163: https://files.nc.gov/governor/documents/files/Phase-2.5-FAQ.pdf Amendment to the Declaration of State of Emergency in Orange County: https://www.orangecountync.gov/DocumentCenter/View/12733/Orange-County-Declaration-9-3-20-Amendment-Final Reliable InformationFor the latest information and guidance relating to Orange County’s COVID-19 response: |
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Orange County makes Juneteenth a holiday to remember emancipation of enslaved people |
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Orange County employees will take June 19 off, starting next year, to celebrate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States.
The Orange County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to make June 19, or Juneteenth, the county’s 12th paid holiday. The change is expected to cost taxpayers roughly $61,000 in salaries and benefits, county staff reported.
Commissioner Renee Price, the board’s lone Black member, proposed the change in July.
“This really is to acknowledge that Juneteenth really is a day of freedom for African Americans,” Price said. “For years, we’d go along with July Fourth with other folks having that as a major holiday, but it really was not a freedom day for people of color and African descent.”
The town boards in Hillsborough and Carrboro, the Raleigh City Council and the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved the paid holiday earlier this summer.
The Chapel Hill Town Council, the Durham County Board of Commissioners and the Durham City Council are expected to consider the move later this year, elected officials have said.
Juneteenth is celebrated on June 19 — the day in 1865 when Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, with the news that the Civil War had ended and slaves were free. The news arrived more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.
The day is observed as a ceremonial holiday in 47 states, including North Carolina, and has been an official state holiday in Texas since 1980. Hawaii, North Dakota and South Dakota are the only states that do not recognize Juneteenth.
But after Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd, there has been a new urgency to officially recognize the holiday. U.S. Sens. Cory Booker, Kamala Harris and others sponsored a bill this summer that would make Juneteenth a national holiday. Local governments also have encouraged the state to make the day an official state holiday. |
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Healthy Homes and COVID-19 Virtual Class |
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Free Healthy Homes Virtual Class!
Does your child have asthma? Breathe easier knowing your home is healthier with our Healthy Homes class!
Learn about:
- Potential environmental triggers in the home, green cleaning principles, and home injury prevention tips!
- Free Green Cleaning Kit that includes a mask, and items to do class exercises, that can also be utilized for personal use. Examples of items included in the kit:
· Baking soda · Castile soap · Peroxide · Vinegar · Bucket · Microfiber cloth This is a free 1 hour class (for all age groups) that meets on September 16, 2020 from 5PM – 6PM via GO TO Meeting: Registration Deadline: Friday September 11, 2020. To register call Krishnaveni Balakrishnan at 919-621-3818 or via email at kbalakrishnan@orangecountync.gov Please include: name, address, and the email you will be using to participate in the class. |
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Please see below a message from Cardinal Innovations
We know that your schedules and routines have probably changed during this time.
To help, we are going to be posting videos from different friends and community members on our Facebook page and our blog throughout the week. We want to help you have fun while you're spending time at home and social distancing.
For more information, please visit our webpage.
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Advancing Health Equity:
How is racism a public health issue
and why we must address it |
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Health inequity refers to the uneven distribution of social and economic resources that impact an individual’s health. Inequities often stem from structural racism or the historical disenfranchisement and discrimination of particular marginalized groups, including racial and ethnic minorities, low-income populations, and members of the LGBTQ community.These groups have historically been withheld from obtaining resources that are needed to be healthy, and are disproportionately exposed to a combination of health risks such as poverty, violence, poor neighborhood conditions, and environmental health hazards.Inequities in health often result in disparities in health outcomes between populations within the United States. A health disparity refers to “a difference in health that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage.” It is important to note that not all differences in health are disparities. A health difference is considered a health disparity if it is the result of unjust or unfair exposure to detrimental health and social factors.For example, differences in health outcomes between the U.S. aging population and younger populations are not a consequence of unjust or avoidable exposures to detrimental health factors but instead a result of unavoidable aging. Therefore, differences in health between the U.S. aging population and younger population are not health disparities. Yet differences in health between white mothers and black mothers, who experience more than triple the rates of death in childbirth and are less likely to receive adequate prenatal care, are a health disparity rooted in racism (APHA Advancing Health Equity, 2020). |
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Communities of color will likely face increased challenges accessing COVID-19-related testing and treatment services since they are more likely to be uninsured compared to Whites. Congress has passed legislation to provide free testing for uninsured individuals, and the President has proposed coverage for hospital treatment costs for uninsured individuals4 . However, uninsured people may lack a usual source of care and not know where to go to obtain testing. They also may still forego testing or treatment out of fear of costs if they are not aware of the resources provided to help cover costs for uninsured individuals. Additionally, some may still face large out of pocket costs for care that these provisions might not cover, such as care received outside the hospital inpatient setting.
While all racial and ethnic groups had large gains in health coverage under the ACA, Blacks, Hispanics, AIANs, and Native Hawaiians Other Pacific Islanders (NHOPIs) remain more likely to be uninsured compared to Whites. AIANs and Hispanics are at the highest risk of being uninsured, with 22% of AIANs and nearly one in five (19%) Hispanics lacking coverage compared to 8% of Whites (Figure 3). Higher uninsured rates among groups of color, in part, reflect their more limited access to affordable coverage options.
Uninsured Blacks are more likely than Whites to fall in a coverage gap (15% vs. 9%) because a greater share live in states that have not implemented the Medicaid expansion (Figure 4). Moreover, uninsured nonelderly Hispanics and Asians are less likely than Whites to be eligible for coverage, because they include larger shares of noncitizen immigrants who are subject to eligibility restrictions for Medicaid and Marketplace coverage (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2020).
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The American Public Health Association (APHA) is hosting this four-part webinar series to give an in-depth look at racism as a driving force of the social determinants of health and equity.
The series will explore efforts to address systems, policies and practices designed to limit and shape opportunities for people of color. The presenters will highlight collective and individual actions we can take to advance racial equity and justice.
To access the series, please visit this link.
It is highly recommended to view webinars from the 2015 series The Impact of Racism on the Health and Well-Being of the Nation in advance of the 2020 webinar series.
To access the 2015 webinar series, please click here. |
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 179,532 COVID-19 cases, 2,958 deaths, and 916 hospitalizations, as of September 9, 2020. For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every day at noon), please visit the NCDHHS website.
Orange County Health Department also has a COVID-19 dashboard webpage, with information on COVID-19 data in the county. The dashboard will be updated every Tuesday and Thursday.
There are currently 2,443 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, and 51 deaths.
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COVID-19 Community Resources
For more information on COVID-19 community resources in the county, please visit our webpage. Resources on specific topic areas, such as food access, education, housing, and others, are all accessible on our website, or at the links below. |
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