. @NC_Governor: Good afternoon, thank you for joining. We wanted to share some critical updates on North Carolina’s efforts to fight COVID-19.

@NC_Governor: As of today, North Carolina has 3,426 confirmed positive cases and, sadly, 53 deaths.

@NC_Governor: Overnight, test results revealed a hotspot of transmission in Orange County. A series of tests for COVID-19 has revealed at least 60 positive results in a skilled nursing facility in Orange County with more likely to come. Of those, 7 are hospitalized & 2 have died.

@NC_Governor: These are shockingly large numbers, and I wanted to share information about what the state is doing to control and combat outbreaks at long-term care facilities to protect the residents and staff.

@NC_Governor: We are tracking these outbreaks closely because we know that by nature they can be hard to control. And we are taking steps to safeguard people.

@NC_Governor: First, we must do everything possible to prevent an outbreak. My earlier executive order has restricted visitors to these facilities, and DHHS guidance suggests that workers wear protective gear and monitor their own health.

@NC_Governor: Direct guidance on closing shared living spaces and sanitation are also in effect. Dr. Mandy Cohen has and will issue additional directives that she will talk about in a minute.

@NC_Governor: Second, we have accumulated enough testing supplies to respond quickly and aggressively to test and assess patients and staff.

@NC_Governor: This is important because we know that this virus can spread even before a person is showing symptoms like a fever or cough. This increased testing will tell us which employees or residents may have the virus but aren’t showing symptoms so they can be isolated.

@NC_Governor: Third, we must take immediate action to stop the spread of COVID-19 in this facility and others.

@NC_Governor: In coordination with local & state health departments, facilities that have residents with the virus will group them in a separate area to make sure they are cared for by a separate group of staff.

@NC_Governor: This will prevent interactions with residents and staff that are not COVID-19 positive.

@NC_Governor: As our concern has grown about long-term care facilities, @NCDHHS has added data to its public dashboard.

@NC_Governor: One of the items being tracked and shared is the number of outbreaks at congregate living facilities – nursing homes, residential care facilities, and correctional institutions.

@NC_Governor: These cases highlight the importance of our work to get more hospital beds and the medical workers to staff them.

@NC_Governor: Yesterday, I mentioned several upcoming executive orders. One of those will be signed today.

@NC_Governor: That order allows more health care providers into the system, puts to use the equipment and other resources that otherwise would lie dormant, and transfers medical resources where they can be most effective and save the most lives.

@NC_Governor: The order also increases the number of hospital beds that may be needed for this crisis.

@NC_Governor: In addition, the order streamlines guidelines on child care facilities and staff to make sure the children of our most essential workers can be cared for while these brave parents work.

@NC_Governor: Finally, I encourage everyone to follow our #StayAtHome order. This pandemic has shown us how interconnected our society truly is.

@NC_Governor: Going out for a non-essential reason may feel harmless to you if you’re not having symptoms, but if you have the virus, you could set off a chain reaction unknowingly by passing the virus off to even just a handful of people. They will pass it on to more people.

@NC_Governor: And so on. Or if you go out and don’t have the virus, you could easily pick it up.

@NC_Governor: Eventually, it could afflict a nursing home. Or a friend or relative who is already sick with an underlying condition.

@NC_Governor: The more we #StayAtHome , the more lives we save. It’s that simple.

. @SecMandyCohen: As the Governor shared, we’ve seen a number of outbreaks in congregate settings. Currently, there are 21 outbreaks across the state, meaning two or more people have tested positive in a congregate setting. 18 of those outbreaks are in long-term care settings.

@SecMandyCohen: We have been working with our partners – the industry associations, our local health departments & the facilities – on their prevention and response actions.

@SecMandyCohen: We already issued an earlier executive order which limited all visitors except in extreme end-of-life situations.

@SecMandyCohen: We will also codify additional directives to help prevent further outbreaks.