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TUESDAY MORNING TITLES
Three new free COVID-19 test sites are open in Raleigh.
Marsh Creek Park, Roberts Park and Method Community Park are the three new locations joining the Departure Drive Building, Radeas Labs and Swinburne Parking Lot as drive-thru test locations.
Click here for more information about each location.
Health officials suggest anyone returning from holiday trips or gatherings to be tested three to five days after last contact with people outside the balloon.
Tests at these drive-thru locations are completely free and usually give results in 24-48 hours.
Meanwhile, another candidate for the COVID-19 vaccine is moving forward. Novavax is now the fifth company to launch a large-scale study in the United States.
This vaccine is mass-produced in Morrisville at Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies. Fujifilm has added 85 new jobs in Morrisville this year, and the company has said it wants to expand again in 2021.
Vaccines already authorized by the FDA are now distributed to nursing homes and long-term care facilities in our state.
CVS and Walgreens began vaccinating residents and staff at those facilities Monday.
Meanwhile, North Carolina reports more COVID-19 patients in hospitals than ever before: 3,192. This number includes a record 733 adults in intensive care.
Despite the momentum to increase the number of tests performed, the positive rate continues to rise – reaching 14.7%, which is much higher than the state target below 5%.
The new COVID-19 values will be launched around 12 pm
MONTHS
17:00 hours
The stadium’s capacity will be adjusted to 1,500 for the final match of the Carolina Panthers against the New Orleans Saints on January 3, 2021, the team announced on Monday.
PSL owners who have purchased a game ticket have the option to receive a refund or apply their bill payment for 2021. An automatic refund of all single game ticket purchases through Ticketmaster will apply to the same payment method used to purchase tickets within 30 days. Tickets purchased through other channels are subject to those policies.
4:40 p.m.
Residents and staff to nursing homes and long-term care facilities in North Carolina began receiving the first doses of COVID-19 months.
CVS and Walgreens pharmacies administer the vaccines, but due to privacy issues they do not identify the specific locations that receive the first photos.
According to CVS, nearly 128,000 people will be vaccinated in nearly 900 locations over the next three months across the country.
4:13 p.m.
Congressman GK Butterfield said he received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine.
The Democrat from North Carolina posted a photo of himself on Twitter and said that “following the recommendations of the CDC and the direction of the Doctor’s Office, I received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Although this is a critical step in crushing the virus, you need to continue science-based security measures: practice social distancing. Wear a mask. “
Following the recommendations of the CDC and the direction of the Physician’s Office, I received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccine. Although this is an essential step in crushing the virus, we must continue science-based security measures: practice social distancing. He’s wearing a mask. pic.twitter.com/AFiSy8hKyY
– GK Butterfield (@GKButterfield) December 28, 2020
3:41 p.m.
Wake County offers six sites for free testing of COVID-19 this week and through 2021, with more sites open on New Year’s Day and park locations offering Sunday hours.
There is no cost, no appointment is required, no insurance is required and no ID is required. Walk-ups are welcome.
The following locations will be open Monday through Saturday each week, including testing during the Friday, January 1 vacation:
- Swinburne Drive-Thru parking test, 2845 Kidd Road, Raleigh, 27610, 7:00 – 19:00
- Drive Drive Building, by test, 5809 Drive Drive, Raleigh 27616, 8:00 – 18:30 (8:00 – 12:30 Saturday)
- Radeas Labs Drive-thru Testing, 907 Gateway Commons Circle, Wake Forest 27587, 7:00 – 14:00
Starting Tuesday, Wake County will offer free tests at three parks in Raleigh:
- Roberts Park, 1300 St. Martin St., Raleigh, 27610
- Marsh Creek Park, 3050 N. New Hope Road, Raleigh, 27604
- Method Community Park, 514 Method Road, Raleigh, 27607
Testing at all locations in the park is as follows:
- Tuesday, 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
- Wednesday and Thursday, 8:30 – 16:00
- Friday-Sunday, January 1-3 WITHOUT TESTING
- Monday, January 4, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
- Tuesday – Saturday, January 5-9, 8:30 – 16:00
- Sunday, January 10, 11:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
For the latest test times and locations, check here.
2:53 p.m.
The Lee County government’s health department is confirming 218 new cases of COVID-19 as of Monday, for a total of 3,401 cases of COVID-19.
1:14 p.m.
The Halifax County Health Department reports a new death and 145 new cases of COVID-19.
Across the county it had 45 deaths and 2,628 COVID total positive 19 cases.
11:50 am
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services reported 3,888 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday – the second day of daily growth below 4,000. These numbers are abnormally low, however, the number of tests completed in 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 high on Monday, with 3,192.
366 patients with confirmed COVID-19 have been hospitalized in the last 24 hours. 286 suspected patients were hospitalized in the same time frame.
The number of patients with COVID-19 in the ICU also recorded a record high on Monday, with 733. Last month there were 686 patients with COVID-19 in the ICU.
84 percent of hospitalized patients are over 50 years old. However, most cases (40 percent) fall into the 25-49 age group.
6:20 am
The Transportation Security Administration said it had examined more than 1 million people the day after Christmas.
The day after Christmas was the busiest day since the pandemic began. The busiest day came a day before Christmas, when the TSA tested 1,191,123 people.
The daily numbers for this holiday season represent about half of the number of passengers selected on the same day in 2019.
TSA numbers come as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urges Americans to stay home because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As cases continue to grow following Thanksgiving travel, health experts warn that a similar increase is likely to happen in a few weeks due to holiday-related travel at the end of the year.
Headlines Monday morning
Residents of North Carolina nursing homes and long-term care facilities will begin receiving the 19-month COVID vaccine.
CVS and Walgreens organize the vaccinations, but for reasons of confidentiality, do not first identify the specific locations that will receive the photos.
We know that CVS administers vaccines to nearly 900 facilities in North Carolina and more than 40,000 nationwide since Monday. The group expects to vaccinate up to 4 million residents and staff members.
CVS said it will start offering the vaccine to the general public sometime next year.
Meanwhile, COVID-19 values in North Carolina remain at or near record levels.
To date, more than half a million people have tested positive for the North Carolina virus, with at least 6,549 dying from it. Updated numbers will be released around noon.
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