Thread by @NC_Governor

Updates from Gov. Cooper's COVID-19 briefing:

https://twitter.com/NC_Governor/status/1366825186994044933

As of today, we have had 863,409 cases; 1,239 new cases reported since yesterday; 1,353 people in the hospital; and 11,288 people have died. Even as our state battles its way out of this pandemic, we know people are still sick and dying from COVID. Our prayers are with them.

I am pleased to report that North Carolina’s COVID numbers have declined and remain stable. Last week, we took careful, deliberate action to ease but not lift some restrictions to move our economy forward while still protecting public health.

That means we must continue working to keep ourselves and each other safe by wearing a mask and social distancing. These simple measures are still our best tools for slowing the spread of this virus until more people are vaccinated.

We continue to work hard to get people vaccinated in a fast and fair way. Our work is getting noticed. Last week, Kaiser Family Foundation released a report showing NC as #1 state in the nation for vaccinating people 65+. As of today, over 60% of our seniors have been vaccinated.

The Johnson & Johnson one-shot is authorized and will be in NC this week. It’s an advantage that it's one shot and more easily stored. It's been shown to be very effective in preventing hospitalization and death due to COVID. We expect to receive 80,000 doses starting tomorrow.

The federal government is standing up a FEMA-supported vaccination site in Greensboro to open 3/10. It'll be open 12 hours a day, 7 days a week and provide up to 3,000 vaccinations a day for 8 weeks with more community sites and mobile clinics to reach underserved communities.

Our state and local Emergency Management teams are hard at work getting the site ready and working with FEMA. That’s the kind of partnership we welcome and expect in this fight against the pandemic.

Given the current rate of vaccinations and increased supply, many providers say they can move to the next phase of vaccinations. So, I am announcing today that all frontline essential workers in Group 3 will be eligible to receive the vaccine starting tomorrow, March 3.

Group 3 includes first responders and emergency personnel such as police and firefighters, people who work in-person in manufacturing, food and agriculture, grocery stores, government workers and our clergy, among others.

Our essential frontline workers have remained on the job throughout this pandemic and I am grateful for their work.

We are also announcing that some members of Group 4 will be eligible beginning March 24. We will open group 4 first to people with medical conditions that put them higher-risk for severe COVID-19 illness.

The third vaccine and improving vaccine supply will help us get more people vaccinated more quickly. But as we’ve said before – we still don’t have enough vaccines. You may have to wait for an appointment even if today’s action means you are eligible to get vaccinated.

We’ve been able to move this quickly because of the great work of the people of NC. The dedication shown by doctors, nurses, pharmacists and others, our DHHS staff and local health departments across the state. The patience shown by people eager to get their shot.

The trusted voices who are setting good examples and encouraging and helping others. This has come together to make vaccine administration in North Carolina fast and fair.

We were pleased to see all the educators step forward for vaccines over the past week. It’s good to see more school systems get students back in person into the classroom as we have urged.

School systems that haven’t set dates to return are being pushed to get children and educators in the classroom. Learning in person is critically important to students, and I look forward this week to more action to make that happen in a safe way.

With declining and stabilizing COVID-19 data, a new vaccine, a new FEMA site in our state, recent increases in total vaccine supply, and the easing of health protocols, there are many reasons to feel hopeful.

As we continue to move in the right direction, we know progress is fragile. COVID variants are present and vaccines aren’t widely available yet. We must continue to use good judgment. If we recommit to keeping ourselves and each other safe, we can get to the other side.