Press Releases

According to the North Carolina Division of Public Health (DPH), there have been 1,205 heat-related hospital emergency department visits reported since May 1, 2020. The NC Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is encouraging people to take precautions to avoid heat exhaustion and other heat-related illnesses, especially on hot days. 

Effective Aug. 1, 2020, a booster dose of meningococcal conjugant vaccine (MenACWY) is required for students entering the 12th grade in public, private or religious schools in North Carolina. Students who do not meet this requirement may not be allowed to attend school until they receive the booster dose.

Funding is now available to help North Carolinians in crisis pay cooling or heating bills or secure cooling or heating resources.

Today, Governor Roy Cooper issued an Executive Order returning regulatory authority for skilled nursing facilities to the Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). Current restrictions remain in place as NCDHHS collaborates with industry and advocacy organizations, monitors progress and evaluates options to best protect the health and wellbeing of staff, residents and their loved ones.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services unveiled an updated COVID-19 Dashboard that includes more granular information about hospital capacity and hospitalization trends, both statewide and broken down by region. These new hospitalization data will provide additional insight into North Carolina’s hospital capacity in the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Governor Roy Cooper announced that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) today has approved a third vendor, NC Community Health Center Association (NCCHCA), to expand free COVID-19 testing to historically marginalized communities that currently have limited testing sites. So far, Vidant Health and Orig3n, Inc. have coordinated more than 60 testing events through this initiative with eleven additional events scheduled for today.

Today, Governor Roy Cooper announced that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) launched new online tools to help Spanish-speaking North Carolinians to determine if they should consider being tested for COVID-19 and help individuals monitor their symptoms if they have tested positive for or been exposed to COVID-19.

Hoy, el gobernador Roy Cooper anunció que el Departamento de Salud y Servicios Humanos de Carolina del Norte (NCDHHS) lanzó nuevas herramientas en línea para ayudar a los norcarolinianos de habla hispana a determinar si deberían considerar hacerse la prueba de COVID-19 y ayudar a las personas a monitorear sus síntomas, si han dado positivo, o han estado expuestos a COVID-19.

NCDHHS has announced community testing events in Edgecombe, Halifax, Hertford, Johnston, Northampton, Sampson and Wake counties as part of the initiative to increase access to free COVID-19 testing for historically marginalized communities that currently have limited testing sites.

NCDHHS is reporting the state’s highest one-day number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with 2,462 reported. It is the highest one-day increase to date. Hospitalizations are also at a record high with 1,093 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19.