NC Coronavirus Taskforce Briefing for 03-23-2021

The North Carolina Coronavirus Taskforce held a press conference on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 23rd to share information about the pandemic and update the public on the state response. A video of the briefing, a copy of the new Executive Order, and slides that were shown during the press conference have been added below so you may view them in their entirety. 

  Press Conference

Executive Order #204 [Download PDF

NCDHHS Director Dr Mandy Cohen shared a presentation (slides shown below) that indicate trends are continuing to improve, but cautioned people to continue to be careful and practive proper pandemic hygiene.

 

Governor Roy Cooper announced he was lifting pandemic restrictions in response to the improving metrics the state has been monitorung. Copies of the slides from his presentation are included below.

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Published at 2:50pm on Tuesday, March 23, 2021

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Don’t Postpone Seeking Care at Angel Medical Center During the Pandemic, It Could Mean the Difference Between a Manageable and a Serious Condition, and Even Life or Death

PRESIDENT’S COLUMN
ANGEL MEDICAL CENTER

Karen is out of the office currently, so the March CEO column is from Tim Layman who is taking care of things in Karen's absence.



As the Administrator of Clinical Operations at Angel Medical Center (AMC), I wanted to create a special message for March. This month we can see the promise of spring just a bit more clearly on the horizon, after enduring the cold and spending months inside. This year, however, our impatience for spring is more intense than ever due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has required us to live very different lives over the last year. Just the ability to get outside again will feel liberating.

Since many are working at home independently and otherwise staying put, it’s more important than ever to be aware of the baseline measurements of health that we refer to as “your numbers.” An unfortunate trend that healthcare providers have observed over the past year is people putting off getting treatment for symptoms that ultimately lead to serious illness, like diabetes or a heart attack, for fear that they will contract COVID-19 at the hospital.

I hear from our team members that because of this restraint, when people finally arrive here at AMC, they are often much sicker than they would’ve been had they sought care earlier. Unfortunately, this leads to increased adverse outcomes.

People delay routine screenings in some instances, which is problematic because a budding condition, such as diabetes for example, can be caught, treated, and managed. In contrast, if it continues to accelerate silently, again, by the time you visit us, you’re dealing with a more severe condition. At other times, we’re seeing individuals experiencing symptoms that require a call to 9-1-1 the instant they’re noticed, but waiting to seek treatment. Sadly, this can be deadly when it comes to heart attacks and strokes.

It has never been truer that our hospital is the farthest thing from a dangerous place to be in terms of COVID-19. On the contrary, the protocols we’re observing — universal screening for all who enter AMC, visitor restriction levels that are appropriate concerning the level of infection we are experiencing, and mandated masking — mean that AMC is one of the safest places you could be. We’re doing our part so you can continue to get the best treatment possible, with whatever symptoms or condition you are experiencing.

The important part you can play in this has to do with keeping informed on those numbers I referred to earlier. If you know your BMI (body mass index) — an essential measurement of your risk for disease based on your height and weight, cholesterol readings (HDL is “good,” LDL is “bad), blood pressure, and glucose level, you will be ahead of the game when it comes to your ability to tell whether something is amiss with your health and if you should seek care with us.

You become familiar with your numbers by scheduling an annual physical, something else you shouldn’t put off because of the pandemic. It gives you and your primary care provider a chance to discuss your numbers, and then you know, for example, if your blood pressure climbs to a dangerous level, because you can put it into the correct context. It’s also important to familiarize yourself with the symptoms of heart attack and stroke. The more in tune you are at recognizing them, the more skilled you will be at deciding when to call for help.

The pandemic has had a negative effect on many people’s health for multiple reasons. In addition to contributing to people postponing routine and necessary medical care, our anxiety and isolation have led to weight gain, interrupted sleep, and doing things like leaning on comfort food and that extra glass of wine to reduce our stress. In reality, taking a socially distanced walk with a friend, enjoying a cup of herbal tea, and heading to bed instead of opting for another episode of your latest “binge show” are the smartest things you can do to alleviate stress in the long run.

What we’re living through is not easy. Though we have reasons to be hopeful — the vaccine, being able to get outside again, and hopefully falling numbers of COVID-19 related diagnoses and deaths — at no time should we ease up on practicing our three Ws. Please keep masking when you go out, waiting six feet apart from others, and washing your hands often. These are the proven practices that make all the difference. Ensure your safety throughout the pandemic by continuing to be mindful of your health and never putting off seeking care, whether it’s a scheduled mammogram or symptoms of a heart attack. We’re here, safe, and ready to care for you, especially now.

About the Columnist

Timothy Layman, DNP, is the Administrator of Clinical Operations at Angel Medical Center. Layman holds a PhD in Nursing Practice from Yale University, a MS in Nursing Administration from LaRoche College and a BS in Nursing from Pennsylvania State University. Before coming to Angel Medical Center and Mission Health, he served as Vice President for Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Thomas Jefferson University. Layman currently serves on the faculty of Thomas Jefferson University and Yale University.


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Published at 2:48am on Tuesday, March 23, 2021

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NC Coronavirus Briefing for 03-09-2021

The North Carolina Carolina Virus Taskforce is scheduled to give a briefing today at 3pm. A video player has been embedded below so you can watch it live or come back later and check it out. If changes are made to the pandemic restrictions, additional information will also be added.

Coronavirus Briefing: NC Gov. Roy Cooper (03/09/21)





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Published at 2:30pm on Tuesday, March 9, 2021

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COVID-19 Briefing for 03-08-2021

Local Briefing

To register to receive the vaccine and to be contacted when appointments for your group are available, please call 828-524-1500. The vaccine call center is open from 8:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Monday, until further notice. 

 Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a couple of charts by Macon Media to show you the long-term trends since April 17th. The health department has started releasing information about vaccine delivery, so those numbers will be included here also, as well as charted.

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VACCINE DELIVERY
(The health department received its first shipment on December 30th)

CATEGORY	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Vaccines Given Today	400	x	x	x	x	400
Inventory	800	x	x	x	x	800
Vaccines Given (total)	7754	x	x	x	x	7754

(note--these numbers are on the day reported, not necessarily given since some shots may be given after the daily report is published, Also, there are often more shots in the vials than reported on the manifest, so total shots will not match reported inventory) 

POSITIVE CASES IN THE SCHOOLS THIS WEEK

(One case was reported on Monday in the Support Staff. That number is not reflected in the chart)

SCHOOL	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Cartoogechaye	0	x	x	x	x	0
East Franklin	0	x	x	x	x	0
Franklin High	0	x	x	x	x	0
Highlands	0	x	x	x	x	0
Iotla Valley	0	x	x	x	x	0
Macon Early	0	x	x	x	x	0
Macon Middle	0	x	x	x	x	0
Mountain View	0	x	x	x	x	0
Nantahala	0	x	x	x	x	0
South Macon	0	x	x	x	x	0
Union Academy	0	x	x	x	x	0
TOTALS FOR DAY	0	x	x	x	x	0

Cases in Macon County

3008 Detected
(+8 from Thursday and +24 from last Friday and +194 from four weeks ago)

35 Active
(+3 from Thursday and -15 last Friday and -445 from four weeks ago)

2943 Recovered
(+5 from Thursday and +39 last Friday and +633 from four weeks ago)

30 Deaths
(unchanged from Thursday and (unchanged from last Friday and +6 from four weeks ago)


Testing in Macon County

9271 by MCPH
(+3 from Thursday and +45 from last Friday and +333 from four weeks ago)

8521 by Others
(+12 from Thursday and +121 from last Friday and +1140 from four weeks ago)

17792 total
(+15 from Thursday and +166 from last Friday and +1473 from four weeks ago)

20 tests pending results
(-14 from Thursday and -15 from last Friday and -68 from four weeks ago)

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Published at 7:41pm on Monday, March 08, 2021

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COVID-19 Briefing for 03-05-2021

Local Briefing

To register to receive the vaccine and to be contacted when appointments for your group are available, please call 828-524-1500. The vaccine call center is open from 8:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Monday, until further notice. 

 Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a couple of charts by Macon Media to show you the long-term trends since April 17th. The health department has started releasing information about vaccine delivery, so those numbers will be included here also, as well as charted.

VACCINE DELIVERY
(The health department received its first shipment on December 30th)

CATEGORY	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Vaccines Given Today	610	0	13	218	424	841
Inventory	0	500	1700	1500	1200	1500
Vaccines Given (total)	6699	6699	6712	6930	7354	7354

(note--these numbers are on the day reported, not necessarily given since some shots may be given after the daily report is published, Also, there are often more shots in the vials than reported on the manifest, so total shots will not match reported inventory) 

POSITIVE CASES IN THE SCHOOLS THIS WEEK

SCHOOL	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Cartoogechaye	0	0	0	0	0	0
East Franklin	0	0	0	0	0	0
Franklin High	0	1	0	0	0	1
Highlands	0	0	0	0	0	0
Iotla Valley	0	0	1	0	0	1
Macon Early	0	0	0	0	0	0
Macon Middle	0	0	0	0	0	0
Mountain View	0	0	0	0	0	0
Nantahala	0	0	0	0	0	0
South Macon	0	0	0	0	0	0
Union Academy	0	0	0	0	0	0
TOTALS FOR DAY	0	1	1	0	0	2

Cases in Macon County

3000 Detected
(+4 from Thursday and +26 from last Friday and +217 from four weeks ago)

32 Active
(-3 from Thursday and -27 last Friday and -461 from four weeks ago)

2938 Recovered
(+7 from Thursday and +53 last Friday and +670 from four weeks ago)

30 Deaths
(unchanged from Thursday and (unchanged from last Friday and +8 from four weeks ago)


Testing in Macon County

9268 by MCPH
(+6 from Thursday and +51 from last Friday and +349 from four weeks ago)

8509 by Others
(+28 from Thursday and +141 from last Friday and +1192 from four weeks ago)

17777 total
(+34 from Thursday and +192 from last Friday and +1541 from four weeks ago)

34 tests pending results
(-15 from Thursday and -30 from last Friday and -95 from four weeks ago)

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Published at 8:05pm on Friday, March 05, 2021

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COVID-19 Briefing for 03-04-2021

National and State Briefing

COVID-19 Questions and Answers with Vincent and Amy 

(03-03-2021)



Coronavirus Update 124: California and New York Variants 

(03-01-2021)



• North Carolina Coronavirus Taskforce Briefing for 03-02-2021 Frontline Essential Workers Eligible for Vaccination Beginning March 3rd [LINK]

Local Briefing

To register to receive the vaccine and to be contacted when appointments for your group are available, please call 828-524-1500. The vaccine call center is open from 8:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Monday, until further notice. 

 Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a couple of charts by Macon Media to show you the long-term trends since April 17th. The health department has started releasing information about vaccine delivery, so those numbers will be included here also, as well as charted.

VACCINE DELIVERY
(The health department received its first shipment on December 30th)

CATEGORY	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Vaccines Given Today	610	0	13	218	x	841
Inventory	0	500	1700	1500	x	1500
Vaccines Given (total)	6699	6699	6712	6930	x	6930

(note--these numbers are on the day reported, not necessarily given since some shots may be given after the daily report is published, Also, there are often more shots in the vials than reported on the manifest, so total shots will not match reported inventory) 

POSITIVE CASES IN THE SCHOOLS THIS WEEK

SCHOOL	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Cartoogechaye	0	0	0	0	x	0
East Franklin	0	0	0	0	x	0
Franklin High	0	1	0	0	x	1
Highlands	0	0	0	0	x	0
Iotla Valley	0	0	1	0	x	1
Macon Early	0	0	0	0	x	0
Macon Middle	0	0	0	0	x	0
Mountain View	0	0	0	0	x	0
Nantahala	0	0	0	0	x	0
South Macon	0	0	0	0	x	0
Union Academy	0	0	0	0	x	0
TOTALS FOR DAY	0	1	1	0	x	2

Cases in Macon County

2996 Detected
(+1 from Wednesday and +27 from last Thursday and +228 from four weeks ago)

35 Active
(-8 from Wednesday and -33 last Thursday and -467 from four weeks ago)

2931 Recovered
(+9 from Wednesday and +60 last Thursday and +684 from four weeks ago)

30 Deaths
(unchanged from Wednesday and (unchanged from last Thursday and +11 from four weeks ago)


Testing in Macon County

9262 by MCPH
(+8 from Wednesday and +56 from last Thursday and +391 from four weeks ago)

8481 by Others
(+21 from Wednesday and +149 from last Thursday and +1206 from four weeks ago)

17743 total
(+23 from Wednesday and +205 from last Thursday and +1597 from four weeks ago)

49 tests pending results
(-12from Wednesday and -24 from last Thursday and -38 from four weeks ago)

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Published at 7:20pm on Thursday, March 04, 2021

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COVID-19 Briefing for 03-02-2021

National and State Briefing

• North Carolina Coronavirus Taskforce Briefing for 03-02-2021 Frontline Essential Workers Eligible for Vaccination Beginning March 3rd [LINK]

Local Briefing

To register to receive the vaccine and to be contacted when appointments for your group are available, please call 828-524-1500. The vaccine call center is open from 8:00am – 5:00pm Monday through Monday, until further notice. 

 Here are the latest COVID-19 Numbers and Demographics Report from Macon Public Health, along with a couple of charts by Macon Media to show you the long-term trends since April 17th. The health department has started releasing information about vaccine delivery, so those numbers will be included here also, as well as charted.

VACCINE DELIVERY
(The health department received its first shipment on December 30th)

CATEGORY	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Vaccines Given Today	610	0	x	x	x	610
Inventory	0	500	x	x	x	500
Vaccines Given (total)	6699	6699	x	x	x	6699

(note--these numbers are on the day reported, not necessarily given since some shots may be given after the daily report is published, Also, there are often more shots in the vials than reported on the manifest, so total shots will not match reported inventory) 

POSITIVE CASES IN THE SCHOOLS THIS WEEK

SCHOOL	MON	TUE	WED	THU	FRI	WEEK
Cartoogechaye	x	0	x	x	x	0
East Franklin	x	0	x	x	x	0
Franklin High	x	1	x	x	x	1
Highlands	x	0	x	x	x	0
Iotla Valley	x	0	x	x	x	0
Macon Early	x	0	x	x	x	0
Macon Middle	x	0	x	x	x	0
Mountain View	x	0	x	x	x	0
Nantahala	x	0	x	x	x	0
South Macon	x	0	x	x	x	0
Union Academy	x	0	x	x	x	0
TOTALS FOR DAY	x	1	x	x	x	1

Cases in Macon County

2988 Detected
(+4 from Monday and +45 from last Tuesday and +251 from four weeks ago)

46 Active
(-4 from Monday and -9 last Tuesday and -479 from four weeks ago)

2912 Recovered
(+8 from Monday and +52 last Tuesday and +719 from four weeks ago)

30 Deaths
(unchanged from Monday and (unchanged from last Tuesday and +11 from four weeks ago)


Testing in Macon County

9238 by MCPH
(+12 from Monday and +60 from last Tuesday and +425 from four weeks ago)

8461 by Others
(+61 from Monday and +170 from last Tuesday and +1269 from four weeks ago)

17699 total
(+73 from Monday and +230 from last Tuesday and +1694 from four weeks ago)

47 tests pending results
(+12from Monday and -41 from last Tuesday and -198 from four weeks ago)

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Published at 6:15pm on Tuesday, March 02, 2021

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