YOUNGER PEOPLE MAKE UP THE BULK OF NC'S COVID 19 CASES: North Carolina has at least 1,186 reported cases of coronavirus as of Monday morning, according to state and county health departments. The majority of cases are people between the ages of 25 and 49 years old. At least 78 of the state’s 100 counties now have at least one reported case of the virus. Nearly 19,000 people have been tested in the state, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. Mecklenburg County has the most reported cases in North Carolina, with 336. Wake County has 146 reported cases, and Durham County has 107. As of Sunday, 91 people in the state were in the hospital with COVID-19, health officials said.
https://www.newsobserver.com/news/coronavirus/article241606656.html

SCHOOL BOARD ACTS SO STUDENTS CAN STILL GRADUATE ON TIME: Graduation requirements would be reduced as well. Students working in an occupational course of study will be required to log 157 paid work hours, reduced from the current requirement of 225 hours. Graduating seniors who have not yet completed CPR will no longer be required to do so. For seniors, the emphasis is on meeting minimum graduation requirements. To that end, seniors who were meeting expectations in required classes would be awarded a new grade, Pass COVID-19, abbreviated as PC-19. Students who were not passing as of March 13 will receive additional remote support through the North Carolina Virtual Public School to meet those expectations. If they don’t, they will receive a Withdraw COVID-19, abbreviated as WC-19. "Our intent here is that seniors are focused on passing courses,” explained DPI Advanced Learning Director Sneha Shah Coltrane. "The additional burden and stress of GPA and grading in a traditional sense is lifted for them.“ The board also approved an additional $50 million in support for school districts, targeted for school nutrition, remote learning, child care services and sanitation required by the coronavirus outbreak.
https://www.wral.com/state-oks-major-changes-to-grading-graduation-requirements-due-to-coronavirus/1...

NO HOUSE CALLS ALLOWED FOR HAIR OR MASSAGE TREATMENTS: If you’re looking for a hair stylist or a masseuse to provide salon or spa services at your home during the statewide order, don't. State officials say it’s illegal and could put you and the service provider in deep trouble. Since all salons and spas have closed, officials say some providers have been offering or getting requests to make house calls. Lynda Elliott, Executive Director with the N.C. Cosmetic Arts Board, said, since people working in the industry are hands on with the client, there’s no way to keep six feet apart. Providers who make house calls are at risk of losing their license and being charged with a Class II misdemeanor. “What happens if you are the person that ends up spreading COVID-19 and individuals die because you weren’t adhering to that social distancing? I think people are not understanding what could happen or the severity of it," Elliott said.
https://www.wral.com/coronavirus/it-s-illegal-to-ask-for-a-hair-or-spa-appointment-at-home-during-th...

BURLINGTON-BASED LABCORP IS LEADING THE NATION ON CORONAVIRUS TESTING: The company made its COVID-19 test available Thursday, March 5, to physicians and healthcare providers anywhere in the United States, said Pattie Kushner, vice president of corporate communications and brand. Specimens are collected by healthcare providers, not on site at the lab. It takes four to five days to deliver results to the ordering healthcare provider, Kushner said. However, this can vary based on demand and how long it takes specimens to reach LabCorp’s facilities. Testing time frames are also challenged by the prioritization of patients already hospitalized, which has been recommended by healthcare officials and the White House Coronavirus Task Force. “We are aligned with the administration’s guidance and are actively encouraging all healthcare providers to follow the guidance to prioritize testing for patients who are hospitalized and being treated for suspected COVID-19,” Adam Schechter, president and CEO of LabCorp, said in a statement March 23. “We are exploring all options to make this happen, and will continue to do all we can to help fight this unprecedented health crisis.” The bulk of LabCorp’s coronavirus testing is being completed at the company’s three biggest labs: Burlington, Phoenix, and Raritan, N.J.
https://www.thetimesnews.com/news/20200329/labcorp-works-to-increase-prioritize-covid-19-testing

TRUMP ACCUSES MEDICAL PERSONNEL OF "HOARDING" VENTILATORS AND BLACK MARKETING MASKS: President Trump has been focused on shifting blame for whatever becomes of the coronavirus outbreak. And on Sunday, he set about blaming hospitals and states for the well-established shortages of equipment to deal with the situation. During the daily White House coronavirus briefing in the Rose Garden, Trump suggested that hospitals had squandered or done worse with masks and were “hoarding” ventilators, and that states were requesting equipment despite not needing it. Trump’s boldest claim was about masks. He noted that current demand wasn’t commensurate with what hospitals typically use and suggested that masks were “going out the back door.” At another point, Trump suggested that states begging for equipment are actually “stocked up” and that certain hospitals might be “hoarding” ventilators. (States nationwide have said they also need many of these, too.) “Frankly, many of the states are stocked up,” Trump said. “Some of them don’t admit it, but they have — we have sent just so much, so many things to them, including ventilators. You know, there’s a question as to hoarding of ventilators, some hospitals and independent hospitals and some hospital chains, as we call them — they are holding ventilators, they don’t want to let ‘em up. We need them for certain areas where there’s big problems.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2020/03/29/trump-bizarrely-blames-hospitals-mask-ventilator-...