COVID Surge

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released new COVID-19 data Thursday evening which included the number of vaccinated North Carolinians who have either gotten sick or died from the virus.

• 8,620 new COVID-19 cases were reported in North Carolina on Thursday. That's a significant increase from the 6,130 reported on Wednesday and the highest the state has seen since early February.
• The percent of positive tests in the state stands at 13%.
• 3,552 people are currently hospitalized in North Carolina with COVID-19. Of that number, 883 are adult COVID-19 ICU patients.
• 388 COVID-19 patients were admitted into hospitals in the last 24 hours alone.

Hospitals all across the state are warning of filled ICUs and staff shortages at critical levels.

Read more

Drone Deliveries

UPS and its subsidiary, UPS Flight Forward, have begun delivering COVID-19 vaccines using drones in a new partnership with Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist located in North Carolina according to an Aug. 24 press release. The vaccines are being transported by a Matternet M2 drone that has been outfitted with a specialized cargo box with a temperature-sensitive packaging mixture, a PCM Gel-solution supplied by Cold Chain Technologies.

Read more.

NC Congressman Reintroduces Protection Bill

North Carolina Congressman for the Third District Greg Murphy M.D. is looking to provide some security to schools in the event they find themselves in a legal battle with the coronavirus. On Monday, Murphy reintroduced H.R. 5079, the Open Schools Responsibly Act. If passed, the bill would protect academic institutions for elementary, middle, high school, and colleges from lawsuits and economic penalties related to contracting and transmitting COVID-19 upon returning to school for the 2021–2022 academic school year.

Read more.

Utility Pole Holdup?

To be included in today’s digital world, all North Carolinians need access to reliable, high-speed broadband. Yet, today nearly 472,000 in North Carolina — primarily in rural communities — remain without broadband access, limiting their options to work, learn, pray, socialize, see their doctors, and more.

Read more.