Thread by @PeteKaliner

Watching the Governor's COVID briefing like the Governor is watching all of us this holiday season...

#NCpol

Gov:
Our numbers are too high and we cannot ignore them.
But other states are worse. They should be the canary in the coal mine for us.
That's why we limited capacity for social & family gatherings to 10.

#NCpol

Gov:
We're rolling out a new county alert system showing hot spots. But our entire state is experiencing widespread transmission.
Other states are seeing surges.
Ours are not surging. But it could happen quickly.

#NCpol

Cohen:
I am concerned about where we are. We have 3,000+ cases in one day.
Hospitals in the Triad area particularly are feeling the strain.
Other states are worse.
They are tightening restrictions.

#NCpol

Cohen:
Look at our dashboard for a color-coded map of spread.
10 are red with critical spread
43 are orange with substantial spread
47 are yellow with significant spread

#NCpol

Cohen:
If you're in the red counties, here are way to slow the spread:
- Limiting social activities with other households & reduce public interactions to essential activities.
- Biz should cancel non-essential travel
- Cancel meetings with >10 people

#NCpol

Cohen:
-Local governments can increase enforcement

We have a list of actions everyone can take available at the NCDHHS website.

We can do this!

#NCpol

Gov:
Great plan, Dr. Cohen. We can succeed.

If we keep going in the wrong direction, though, we could impose more restrictions.
We need people to treat this like the deadly threat it is.
But people are getting lax.
Can't let weariness win!

#NCpol

Gov:
Giving up now is like punting from the 10-yard line.
Scale back your holiday plans.
Let's stick with what we know works... the 3Ws!

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Are you going to break out this data at the county level - for cities?

Gov:
It's a starting point for us. It's county-level.
We want to create a synergy of enforcing requirements and establish things unique to counties. More resources targeted to counties.

#NCpol

Gov:
We haven't seen surge or spike like other states.
If we see numbers rise then we will look at either statewide or local requirements as part of an executive order or DHHS action to force more changes.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Vaccine rollout in worse counties?

Gov:
Health care workers first & residents in long term care. You can see our plan online.
Very worried about hospitals in rural areas - and spread in rural areas now.

#NCpol

Cohen:
We know hospitals have more patients this time of year. We work with hospitals. Transparency. Collaboration. Move patients around to relieve pressure.
We're well-positioned to be aware and to respond.
We are already seeing some hospitals reach strain.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Last month you sent a letter with recommendations to local gov'ts. Will this lead to more cooperation from local gov'ts?

Gov:
I think so. Should send a real alarm across a county - not just public officials, but faith leaders, biz owners, citizens.

#NCpol

Gov:
This new system will raise the concern level.

Cohen:
Kudos to local health care departments & workers. Kudos to counties that are getting more restrictive & increasing enforcement.
We don't want to go backwards.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Will future executive orders apply phases statewide or will this new map be used to target restrictions to worst counties?

Gov:
We may have to do more on a statewide level or local level. That decision has not been made.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Why aren't we going backwards now?

Gov:
We've learned a lot about the virus since March.
Our efforts like masks & distancing will work if people comply.
We're trying to re-energize people. We know it's inconvenient. But we will do what we need to do.

#NCpol

Cohen:
There is widespread transmission across the state.
We have to focus on mask wearing.
Keep your Thanksgiving small, outside, wear mask all the time. Get tested before.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
You were hoping to see less politicizing around COVID. Is that happening?

Gov:
I was on WH Coronavirus task force call with VP Pence yesterday. There was excitement about the 2 vaccines.
I believe we can work on coming together now.
Science & data are clear.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
What is state doing to ensure we don't run out of tests?

Gov:
Free sites across NC.
Not long lines at every site.

Cohen:
Dashboard has turnaround times.
Testing 45k/day

#NCpol

Cohen:
If you go to private testing site, check the box that says a health official told you to get a test.

But going to a free site is easiest.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Could we see travel restrictions in counties with high spread?

Cohen:
We recommend canceling non-essential travel.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
How does this affect school closings?

Gov:
We've asked schools to look at the local metrics, but no requirement based on this map at this time.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Why not make this a requirement/mandate?

Gov:
There's a lot of weariness so people are getting lax. A renewed effort to focus on enforcement of current rules, this will work better to curb the numbers than adding another layer.

But, we might.

#NCpol

Reporter Q:
Where are the hotspots in the counties?

Cohen:
Every county is different.
Good opportunity to come together to understand their numbers & work with health officials.
Spread is in informal social gatherings & in religious settings.

#NCpol

Reporter Q (from the Taylorsville Times!):
Any methodology to separate the prison cases from the civilian population cases?

Gov:
Prayers to your community in the wake of the flooding.
We hope this dashboard will pull people together.

#NCpol

DPS Sec. Hooks:
We have the data so we can drill down and abate COVID-19 in our facilities.
People who live in the area work in the prison, too.

Cohen:
If a county has >25% of its cases from congregate living facilities, we make a note to work with them.

#NCpol

Briefing ends.

Again, no questions or comments about the science.

#NCpol

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