Press Releases

The North Carolina Division of Public Health is accepting entries for the NC Be Antibiotic Aware Artwork Competition. Students K-12 are encouraged to submit an original poster on a theme related to antibiotic awareness, infection prevention, hand hygiene, the 3 Ws and/or COVID-19 to help educate the public on the proper use of antibiotics.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is adding new county-level data to the COVID-19 NC Dashboard on the County Map by Cases section of the Summary dashboard page.

Officials with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Public Health today announced the first reported flu-related death of the 2020-21 flu season , which occurred the first week of October and involved an adult over 65 years of age in the central part of the state. NCDHHS staff and leadership extend their sympathies to the family and loved ones of this individual during this difficult time. To protect the privacy of the family, the person's hometown, county, age and gender will not be released.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is providing guidelines for voters and local polling locations to help protect the health of North Carolinians during the voting process. In addition, NCDHHS and the NC Department of Public Safety Division of Emergency Management provided personal protective equipment to local election boards and locations.

State leaders from the NC Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services (DMHDDSAS) are partnering with UNC-TV and the Governor's Institute to host several virtual town hall meetings during October and November to listen to the concerns and experiences of consumers, family members and advocates of the state's MH/DD/SAS services and system.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) will launch its new electronic system to streamline the process for creating death records with a staggered rollout beginning on October 19 in eight counties (Buncombe, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Johnston, Mecklenburg, Orange and Wake counties). Statewide implementation is anticipated by June 2021.

More than 100,000 people have downloaded SlowCOVIDNC , the official exposure notification app of the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

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.