North Carolina

North Carolina COVID-19 cases increase but experts don’t expect return of masking, closures

Published

1 year ago

August 24, 2023

North Carolina COVID-19 cases increase but experts don’t expect return of masking, closures

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — Ahead of the back-to-school season, doctors are urging families to take precautions now to ward off respiratory viruses.

COVID-19 metrics are seeing an uptick in North Carolina.

More than 26 million virus particles were found in North Carolina wastewater last week; six times more than the amount detected two months ago, according to data from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS).

The number of patients admitted to a hospital for COVID-19 is also increasing. More than 400 patients were admitted statewide; this is the sixth week of increase and the highest number of patients since March.

Despite the recent uptick, the state’s metrics remain significantly lower than last August — when the state had 1,259 COVID-19 patients in the hospital.

SEE ALSO | New COVID-19 variant EG.5 emerges as cases of the virus increase in North Carolina

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services State Epidemiologist Dr. Zack Moore said this increase isn’t surprising and he doesn’t predict any stricter restrictions will be put in place.

“We know COVID is going to rise and fall, but the big difference now is that we have effective tools to manage that, more like we manage other respiratory viruses, flu, etc.,” Moore said.

The state is still only detecting a handful of flu and RSV cases. The latest data showed 14 people were admitted to the hospital last week for the flu. NCDHHS data also shows the number of people arriving at the emergency department with flu and RSV symptoms has remained low for months.

“I think the thing to do is do everything you can now to prepare yourself be ready when those viruses hit so that we don’t end up in a situation where we have a lot more illness and where our hospitals and health care system get stretched again,” Moore recommended.

A new COVID-19 vaccine is expected out this fall, but the exact timeline is still unknown. The vaccine is designed to better target Omicron variants.

SEE ALSO | CDC reveals new vaccine recommendations for COVID-19, flu, RSV

“When they’re going back to school. Vaccinations are, of course, the best line of defense that we have for COVID and influenza. So if you have kids who haven’t had the COVID vaccinations yet, we would encourage that,” Moore said.

Moore suggested anyone who is at high risk or has a high-risk family member get a COVID-19 booster now rather than waiting for the updated version. For everyone else, he recommends waiting for the updated version.

As for Flu vaccines, Josef’s Pharmacy manager Jonathan Harward said they have started to get some doses of vaccines but are still waiting on double doses. The CDC recommends people get flu vaccines in September or October.

“We haven’t seen much flu yet, so I think there’s still plenty of time there for people to protect themselves,” Moore said.

RSV vaccines for people 60 years and up are also expected out soon.

“We spoke with our vaccine distributor yesterday and we’re hopeful to be able to have that in the next month or so,” Harward said.

He said it is still too soon to know just how severe this respiratory season will be, so he recommends everyone prepare now.

Moore also recommends people stock up on COVID-19 tests now and stay home if they detect any symptoms.

For more vaccine recommendations and guidelines click here.

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North Carolina

People gather for NC Museum of History's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in Raleigh

Published

54 mins ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

People gather for NC Museum of History's annual American Indian Heritage Celebration in Raleigh

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — November is Native American Heritage Month, and it’s a time to celebrate the traditions and cultures of the many Native American communities across North Carolina.

On Friday and Saturday, the North Carolina Museum of History held its annual American Indian Heritage Celebration. People learned about Native American history through live performances, food, art, storytelling and more.

Since the history museum is closed for renovation, the celebration was held at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.

“Our songs, our dances, our stories, our language–it’s all medicine to us,” Community Programs Coordinator of NC Museum of History Kaya Littleturtle said at last year’s celebration. “Medicine is anything that makes you well be it physical, spiritual, emotional, all those things are medicine. We hope is that people come out here and they learn about those things, to help uplift us as a people. We hope that it inspires them to go get engaged with things to help uplift them as a people.

This was the 29th year of the celebration.

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North Carolina

Eli Pancol helps Duke football beat Virginia Tech, keep spot as North Carolina’s top team

Published

9 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Press Room

Eli Pancol helps Duke football beat Virginia Tech, keep spot as North Carolina’s top team

Duke hasn’t played pretty football at times, but the Blue Devils have consistently proven to be the top team in North Carolina.

After beating UNC (6-5, 3-4) and N.C. State (5-6, 2-5) earlier this year, Duke (8-3, 4-3 ACC) will go for the Tobacco Road sweep in the regular-season finale at Wake Forest (4-7, 2-5) on Nov. 30 (Noon, ACC Network).

Because of their consistently dominant defense and the ability to handle in-game adversity, the Blue Devils are in position to win double-digit games for just the second time in program history.

That’s quite a debut for first-year coach Manny Diaz, who has helped the Blue Devils win five of their six one-score games this season, including a 31-28 victory against Virginia Tech on Saturday in the home finale at Wallace Wade Stadium.

Duke report card vs Virginia Tech

Here’s what and who stood out on senior night in Duke’s eighth win of the 2024 college football season.

Duke wide receiver Eli Pancol caps comeback with special finale at Wallace Wade Stadium

Eli Pancol, Duke’s sixth-year wide receiver who missed the 2023 season with an injury, capped his comeback with an incredible performance in the final home game of his career.

Eli Pancol’s incredible comeback story

Finishing with five catches for 188 yards and three touchdowns, Pancol did most of that damage on two of the first four plays when he had an 86-yard catch-and-run touchdown, followed by a 77-yard catch-and-run TD. In his final two games at Wallace Wade Stadium, Pancol combined for 16 catches for 326 yards and four touchdowns.

Ozzie Nicholas, Cam Bergeron, Kendy Charles shine for Duke football defense

Pancol wasn’t the only senior to shine Saturday night against the Hokies. Duke’s top three tacklers were seniors, combining for 31 tackles, including three for loss. Princeton graduate transfer Ozzie Nicholas, Duke’s leading tackler, led the way again with 11 tackles. Fellow linebacker Cam Bergeron and defensive tackle Kendy Charles each had 10 tackles.

Overall, Duke had 14 tackles for loss, including eight sacks. The Blue Devils have consistently been among the top five teams in the nation at creating havoc for offenses as a steady presence in the backfield. It’s the main reason Duke is in position to reach 10 wins this season.

Manny Diaz keeps proving he was right hire for Blue Devils

Duke has won 10 games once since 1922, getting it done in 2013 under former coach David Cutcliffe, who helped resurrect a struggling program. Following Cutcliffe’s departure, Mike Elko won nine games in his first season and eight in his second before bolting to Texas A&M.

After a successful stint as a defensive coordinator at Penn State, Diaz got a second head-coaching opportunity when Duke hired him in December 2023. In three seasons as the head coach at Miami, Diaz had one year with eight wins. He accomplished that in his debut year at Duke, putting the program in position to join an exclusive club if the Devils can win their final two games.

Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.

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North Carolina

Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina At Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 – FloHoops

Published

18 hours ago

November 23, 2024

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Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina At Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 – FloHoops

No. 16 North Carolina and MAC favorite Ball State face-off in the Bahamas for a special one to kick off two weeks full of holiday college basketball tournaments coming live to FloHoops. The game begins at 6:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Nov. 23 and is the second of many in the 2024 Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s College Basketball tournament.

The Paradise Island, Bahamas-based tournament hosts eight teams including No. 18 Baylor, Indiana, and Texas A&M.

No. 16 North Carolina is 3-1, coming off of a close loss a week ago to No. 2 UConn, falling 58-69 to the Huskies. They hold wins this season against NC A&T, UNC-Wilmington, and Charleston Southern.

Currently undefeated, Ball State will be hoping to upset North Carolina to add an important win to their resume en route to a potential at-large bid to the NCAA tournament at the end of the season. They have defeated Northern Iowa, IUPUI, Memphis, and Old Dominion so far this season.

Read the live updates, watch highlights and view scores after the game tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Live Updates: Ball State vs No. 16 North Carolina Score At Battle 4 Atlantis

Refresh the page for live updates, highlights and scores from today’s game in the Bahamas. Tip off is at 6:30 p.m. ET.

While You Wait…LIVE NOW: Watch Columbia vs Indiana

Click here to tune in live to more women’s college basketball live on FloHoops.

we’ve got a 3️⃣ point game y’all 👏@CULionsWBB | #Battle4Atlantis | @B4AOfficial pic.twitter.com/9Rg0GzJtl6
— FloCollege | Basketball (@FloCollegeHoops) November 23, 2024
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Earlier Today On FloHoops: Baylor Puts Up 15 Threes, Hits Triple Digits vs Southern Miss

After four great quarters of basketball between Southern Miss and Baylor—the Lady Bears come out on top of game one of the Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s tournament.

Five Baylor players had more than 14 points today against the Lady Eagles and were 44% (15-34) from behind the three-point line, making that the most threes for them this season. Fontleroy and Andrews both tallied four.

For Southern Miss, Grayson and Evans led the points with 12, despite Grayson fouling out.

Despite their quick start, the Eagles were unable to keep up with Baylor and will be looking for redemption against the loser of Columbia vs Indiana. Baylor will play the winner.

Read the full game recap.

Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Tournament Schedule

Saturday, November 23

Sunday, November 24

Monday, November 25

Battle 4 Atlantis Women’s Bracket

Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Teams

How To Watch The Battle 4 Atlantis 2024 Women’s Tournament

Every game except the championship of the Women’s Battle 4 Atlantis will be streaming on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app.

Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.

How To Watch College Basketball On The FloSports Network

Basketball games are streaming all year long on FloHoops, FloCollege and the new FloSports streaming app. Game replays, highlights and more will be available on all platforms.

Watch NCAA Women’s Basketball On FloHoops

The NCAA Women’s Basketball is streaming live on FloHoops and the FloSports app.

The BIG EAST Digital Network is also on FloHoops and the FloSports app.

FloHoops Archived Footage

Video footage from all events will be archived and stored in a video library for FloHoops subscribers to watch for the duration of their subscription.