Press Releases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services updated its COVID-19 guidance for places of worship and shared a toolkit to support faith leaders in slowing the spread of the virus.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has extended essential flexibilities for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children ( WIC ) to ensure participants continue to receive the food and health support they need throughout the COVID-19 national public health emergency.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has partnered with United Providers of Health (UPOH) to address unmet health care needs of historically marginalized communities. A new $7 million statewide effort will support NCDHHS' COVID-19 response by providing preventative health care services, connections to mental health supports and help securing non-medical drivers of health like food and housing.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) today announced a milestone in the use of telehealth and telephonic visits by NC Medicaid enrollees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Since establishing telehealth flexibility policies in early March, NC Medicaid has processed claims for approximately more than 1.1 million telehealth and 350,000 telephonic visits.

As North Carolina's key metrics continue to remain stable and strong infection prevention and control requirements remain in place, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today issued a Secretarial Order updating visitation guidelines for nursing homes to allow indoor visitation.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is adding information about antigen testing to the COVID-19 NC Dashboard , including positive COVID-19 cases and deaths diagnosed with an antigen test and the number of antigen tests completed daily.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services announced today it will provide additional benefits through the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program to help families purchase food for children whose access to free and reduced-priced meals at school has been impacted by remote learning this fall due to COVID-19. The program provides a benefit on an EBT card that can be used to buy food at authorized retailers, including most major grocery stores.

A day after announcing the launch of SlowCOVIDNC, more than 50,000 people had downloaded the app. SlowCOVIDNC , the official exposure notification of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, alerts North Carolinians when they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19 . It is completely anonymous and does not collect, store or share personal information or location data.

NC Medicaid beneficiaries on the NC Innovations Waiver who are attending school virtually due to the COVID-19 public health emergency can now receive waiver support during remote learning.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has launched a COVID-19 Exposure Notification app called ‘SlowCOVIDNC' today, Sept. 22. The app will help North Carolinians slow the spread of the virus by alerting them when they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19. It is completely anonymous and does not collect, store or share personal information or location data.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is launching advertisements in community-based print and online publications to amplify the “Whatever Your Reason' statewide public campaign and urge North Carolinians to “Get Behind the Mask.' NCDHHS has secured print advertisements in 21 of the state's leading community-based print and online publications across the state, with an intentional focus on reaching historically marginalized communities most impacted by the pandemic.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has received five years of funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to partner with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) to increase colorectal cancer screenings, particularly among underserved communities in North Carolina.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, J. Iverson Riddle Developmental Center (JIRDC) has cancelled their 46th annual holiday parade, scheduled for Dec. 2, to ensure the health, safety and well-being of the residents they serve. However, the Center will hold their annual holiday display Dec. 3–31, to be lighted daily from 5:30 p.m. until 10 p.m.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced its selection of an additional vendor, Optum Serve, to continue surging COVID-19 testing capacity in the state.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has been awarded a $35 million State Opioid Response (SOR) grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). These funds will be used to continue the state's efforts to turn the tide on the opioid epidemic by providing treatment and supporting North Carolina's Opioid Action Plan 2.0. Previously, NCDHHS has received a total of $58 million in SOR grants, which to date, has provided more than 14,000 individuals with treatment and recovery services.

Health officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services are urging North Carolina residents to protect themselves, their families and those around them by getting vaccinated against Influenza as the state enters flu season amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The United States Department of Agriculture approved North Carolina's waiver request to issue automatic replacement benefits to people who receive Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) in 11 North Carolina counties impacted by Hurricane Isaias.

Since Friday, Sept. 4, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has experienced continued technical and submission issues with hospital systems' data, which have been exacerbated by the holiday weekend, resulting in incomplete hospitalization data.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is developing a COVID-19 Exposure Notification app called ‘SlowCOVIDNC' that will launch across the state in September 2020. The app will help North Carolinians slow the spread of the virus by alerting them when they may have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

The total new lab-confirmed cases on the NCDHHS COVID-19 Data Dashboard for Aug. 29 reflects an increase caused, in part, by approximately 1,000 positive tests from dates in the first half of the month that were reported to NCDHHS by LabCorp in the past 24 hours.