COVID-19 Updates: October 7, 2020 |
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Orange County Moves into Phase 3 of
State’s Reopening Plan |
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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. October 2, 2020 ? Orange County will align with Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order taking North Carolina into Phase 3 of the state’s reopening plan, effective at 5 p.m. Oct. 2. The order allows bars, movie theaters and outdoor venues, among others, to open with capacity limits, allows K-5 schools to reopen under the state’s Plan A option and limits mass gatherings to 25 people indoors and 50 outdoors.
The governor and Secretary Mandy Cohen of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services pointed to the stabilization of several key metrics ? including hospitalizations, trajectory of confirmed cases, and positivity rates on COVID tests ? as supporting this move.
“Current trends in Orange County allow us to move forward with the state, but should we experience changes in positivity rates, more clusters or outbreaks or an increase in the number of cases, we will not hesitate to reinstate stricter limits on gatherings and other activities,” said Penny Rich, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. “We must remain diligent and continue social distancing and wearing masks while in public until a safe, effective vaccine is readily available.”
By aligning with the state plan, the county’s stricter limit on mass gatherings is lifted. State limits of 25 people indoors and 50 outdoors will be in effect until further notice.
The state’s Plan A for schools continues to include important safety measures like face coverings for all students, teachers and staff, social distancing, and symptom screening, but it does not require schools to reduce the number of children in the classroom. The school systems across Orange County will determine when to reopen their kindergarten-fifth grade classrooms and under which plan.
People of any age with certain underlying medical conditions are at increased risk for severe illness from COVID-19. Those who are at risk are safer at home, and those who have contact with others at risk need to use caution when out.
Orange County extended its emergency declaration to Dec. 31, 2020.
Reliable Information
For the latest information and guidance relating to Orange County’s COVID-19 response: |
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Safer, Alternative Ways to Participate in Halloween |
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Many traditional Halloween activities can be high-risk for spreading viruses. There are several safer, alternative ways to participate in Halloween. If you may have COVID-19 or you may have been exposed to someone with COVID-19, you should not participate in in-person Halloween festivities and should not give out candy to trick-or-treaters. This guidance discourages traditional trick-or-treating or trunk-and-treating where treats are handed to children.
Lower Risk Activities
These lower risk activities can be safe alternatives:
• Carving or decorating pumpkins with members of your household and displaying them
• Carving or decorating pumpkins outside, at a safe distance, with neighbors or friends
• Decorating your house, apartment, or living space
• Doing a Halloween scavenger hunt where children are given lists of Halloween-themed things to look for while they walk outdoors from house to house admiring Halloween decorations at a distance
• Having a virtual Halloween costume contest
• Having a Halloween movie night with people you live with
• Having a scavenger hunt-style trick-or-treat search with your household members in or around your home rather than going house to house
Moderate Risk Activities
• Participating in one-way trick-or-treating where individually wrapped goodie bags are lined up for families to grab and go while continuing to social distance (such as at the end of a driveway or at the edge of a yard)
• If you are preparing goodie bags, wash your hands with soap and water for at least 20 second before and after preparing the bags.
• Be sure not to leave the candy by the road to ensure that no animals take it, as many Halloween candy ingredients are toxic to animals.
• Having a small group, outdoor, open-air costume parade where people are distanced more than 6 feet apart
• Attending a costume party held outdoors where protective masks are used and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
NOTE: A costume mask (such as for Halloween) is not a substitute for a cloth mask. A costume mask should not be used unless it is made of two or more layers of breathable fabric that covers the mouth and nose and doesn’t leave gaps around the face. • Do not wear a costume mask over a protective cloth mask because it can be dangerous if the costume mask makes it hard to breathe. Instead, consider using a Halloween-themed cloth mask.
Going to an open-air, one-way, walk-through haunted forest where appropriate mask use is enforced, and people can remain more than 6 feet apart
• If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised. The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
• Visiting pumpkin patches or orchards where people use hand sanitizer before touching pumpkins or picking apples, wearing masks is encouraged or enforced, and people are able to maintain social distancing
• Having an outdoor Halloween movie night with local family friends with people spaced at least 6 feet apart
• If screaming will likely occur, greater distancing is advised. The greater the distance, the lower the risk of spreading a respiratory virus.
• Lower your risk by following CDC’s recommendations on hosting gatherings or cook-outs.
High Risk Activities Avoid these higher risk activities to help prevent the spread of the virus that causes COVID-19:
• Participating in traditional trick-or-treating where treats are handed to children who go door to door
• Having trunk-or-treat where treats are handed out from trunks of cars lined up in parking lots • Attending crowded costume parties that are held indoors
• Going to an indoor haunted house where people may be crowded together and screaming
• Going on hayrides or tractor rides with people who are not in your household
• Using alcohol or drugs, which can cloud judgement and increase risky behaviors
• Traveling to a rural fall festival that is not in your community if you live in an area with community spread of COVID-19
Are Household and Family the Same? The people with whom you live are your household. Your household may be thought of as a “germ bubble” in that you share germs and protect your bubble from outside germs. Your household may contain family members or you may live with people who are not related to you. Family are all the people you are related to, whether or not they live with you.
During the pandemic it is important to wear a mask and stay six feet apart from people who are not part of your of your household.
Every household within your extended family has a different risk of exposure to coronavirus. For instance, if someone in your family works in a place where he or she frequently interacts with people who are sick, like a hospital, or if they are a frontline worker, or have a child who attends a daycare, his or her risk of exposure to COVID-19 is likely higher. An important part of gathering in a small group during this pandemic is doing so outdoors — in your backyard, for example. Even though you’re outside and even though you’re around family, you still need to maintain social distancing.
While having a conversation, remember that six feet is probably further than you think — about two arm’s lengths. You may even want to use tables or other physical barriers as a reminder to keep your distance from family members that aren’t a part of your household.
Remember Pedestrian Safety The same pedestrian safety recommendations apply to this Halloween. If you chose to go out at night, remember:
• Be seen! Carry glow sticks or flashlights and wear light colored clothing.
• Always walk on sidewalks or paths. Be sure to cross the street using traffic signals and crosswalks.
• Watch for cars turning or backing up. |
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Get Out and Give Back Orange County |
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Our restaurants need you! Let's support this variety of wonderful eateries in our Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough communities.
Watch the following videos highlighting how you can support our local businesses in Orange County. |
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Cities declare racism a health crisis,
but some doubt impact |
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Efuru Flowers, a co-founder of Black Women Rally for Action, poses for photos Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, in Los Angeles. A growing number of cities, counties and states across the country have declared racism a public health crisis. Flowers called Los Angeles' declaration problematic. The city, which declared racism a public health threat last year, offers guidelines, including equality training for city employees. “It does not promote the urgency of eliminating racism in all its forms,” said Flowers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) |
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CHICAGO (AP) — Christy DeGallerie noticed a startling trend in her online group for coronavirus survivors: White patients got medications she’d never heard of, were offered X-rays and their doctors listened to their concerns.
That wasn’t her experience. When the 29-year-old Black woman sought a COVID-19 test at a New York emergency room, a nurse said she didn’t have a fever. DeGallerie appealed to a doctor of color, who told the nurse to check again. It registered 101 degrees.
“We know our pain is questioned and our pain is not real to them,” said DeGallerie, who later started a group for Black COVID-19 survivors. “Getting medical help shouldn’t be discouraging for anyone. It is a discouraging place for Black people.”
Addressing experiences like DeGallerie’s has become a priority for a growing number of local governments, many responding to a pandemic that’s amplified racial disparities and the call for racial justice after the police killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans. Since last year, about 70 cities, roughly three dozen counties and three states have declared racism a public health crisis, according to the American Public Health Association.
Local leaders say formally acknowledging the role racism plays not just in health care but in housing, the environment, policing and food access is a bold step, especially when it wasn’t always a common notion among public health experts. But what the declarations do to address systemic inequalities vary widely, with skeptics saying they are merely symbolic.
Kansas City, Missouri, and Indianapolis used their declarations to calculate how to dispense public funding. The mayor of Holyoke, Massachusetts, a mostly white community of roughly 40,000, used a declaration to make Juneteenth a paid city employee holiday. The Minnesota House passed a resolution vowing to “actively participate in the dismantling of racism.” Wisconsin’s governor made a verbal commitment, while governors in Nevada and Michigan signed public documents.
“It is only after we have fully defined the injustice that we can begin to take steps to replace it with a greater system of justice that enables all Michiganders to pursue their fullest dreams and potential,” Michigan Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II said in a statement.
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Christy DeGallerie poses for a portrait Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Dallas. DeGallerie noticed a startling trend in her online group for coronavirus survivors: White patients got medications she’d never heard of, were offered X-rays and said their doctors listened to their concerns. Addressing experiences like DeGallerie's has become a priority for a growing number of local governments, many responding to a pandemic that’s amplified racial disparities and the call for racial justice after the police killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans. (AP Photo/LM Otero) |
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Wisconsin’s Milwaukee County takes credit for being the first with its May 2019 order. It acted because of sobering health disparities in Wisconsin’s most populous county, where nearly 70% of the state’s Black residents live. It’s the only county with a significantly higher poverty rate than the state average, 17.5% compared with 10.8% statewide, according to a University of Wisconsin-Madison report.
County officials developed a “racial equity budget tool,” requiring departments to explain plans to hire and retain a diverse workforce and how budgets affect disadvantaged communities.
“The framing helped accelerate the conversation, not only stakeholders could actually grasp and understand,” said Jeff Roman, head of the county’s Office on African American Affairs.
Kansas City was another early adopter in August 2019. Councilwoman Melissa Robinson called it a new decision-making lens.
For instance, when the city approved a $2 million pandemic relief plan, more money went to areas with more Black residents, who have been hit disproportionately hard by the virus, instead of being divided equally among ZIP codes.
“Let’s look at where our communities are hurting the most to lift them up,” she said. |
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Christy DeGallerie poses for a portrait Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2020, in Dallas. DeGallerie noticed a startling trend in her online group for coronavirus survivors: White patients got medications she’d never heard of, were offered X-rays and said their doctors listened to their concerns. Addressing experiences like DeGallerie's has become a priority for a growing number of local governments, many responding to a pandemic that’s amplified racial disparities and the call for racial justice after the police killing of George Floyd and other Black Americans. (AP Photo/LM Otero) |
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Officials in Indianapolis approved a resolution in June, and departments proposing budgets now must answer questions like: “How does compensation and level of authority compare between white and minority employees?”
“We needed to say it and put it out there so all the decisions we make in this realm are not
made in a vacuum,” said Vop Osili, president of the Indianapolis City-County Council.
To some, the efforts fall short.
Some clergy called the Indianapolis resolution “meaningless.”
The head of the Chicago Hispanic Health Coalition said Cook County’s 2019 resolution does nothing to help those lacking health insurance, often because of low-paying jobs. Nearly 20% of Hispanic people under 65 are uninsured, compared with 11% of Black people and 8% of white people, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
“We cannot take advantage of people to pay low wages and pay no attention to their health care,” coalition director Esther Sciammarella said.
Efuru Flowers, co-founder of Black Women Rally for Action, called Los Angeles’ 2019 declaration problematic.
The city offers guidelines, including equality training for city employees. While it notes disparities, like Black residents making up 8% of Los Angeles County but 42% of the homeless population, the solutions don’t specifically mention Black people.
“It does not promote the urgency of eliminating racism in all its forms,” said Flowers, who started her Los Angeles County organization after a 2019 health report card revealed poor outcomes for Black women. “It doesn’t promote or enlist citizens to join the effort.”
Some are trying to change that. |
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Efuru Flowers, a co-founder of Black Women Rally for Action, poses for photos Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, in Los Angeles. A growing number of cities, counties and states across the country have declared racism a public health crisis. Flowers called Los Angeles' declaration problematic. The city, which declared racism a public health threat last year, offers guidelines, including equality training for city employees. “It does not promote the urgency of eliminating racism in all its forms,” said Flowers. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) |
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A coalition of hospitals and community clinics took up the cause in Chicago, where a city study showed chronic disease and gun violence are top causes for the almost nine-year gap in life expectancy between Black and white residents.
The group published an open letter in June calling racism a “real threat to the health of our patients, families and communities.”
Their goals include increasing access to care, even as one of Chicago’s oldest hospitals that serves predominantly Black, Hispanic, elderly and low-income patients is set to close. The group aims to have specific commitments by year’s end.
“The reality is that we helped create some of these structural barriers,” said Brenda Battle, vice president of the University of Chicago Medicine’s Urban Health Initiative. “We are the ones who have the ability to influence access to health care services. We have not effectively ensured that everybody has access.”
DeGallerie is encouraged by such efforts but says she’s never felt racial disparities so strongly. In her Black COVID-19 survivors’ group, not being taken seriously by medical professionals is a common theme, as is getting substandard care.
She’s skeptical of when she’ll see change.
“I would only believe it when it comes from the mouths of patients who are Black,” she said. “Those are the only people who would be able to tell you that something has changed.” |
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Food Distribution this Thursday |
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North Carolina COVID-19 Cases
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 222,969 COVID-19 cases, 3,693 deaths, and 1,028 hospitalizations, as of October 7, 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 2,777 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orange County, and 57 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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