Press Releases

Governor, DHHS urge North Carolinians to follow guidance. Governor Roy Cooper today announced that North Carolina is taking proactive steps to protect the health and wellbeing of our state in the face of growing cases of the coronavirus COVID-19 around the nation and here in North Carolina. Included in today's guidance is a recommendation to cancel or postpone gatherings over 100 people and telework if possible.

NC Medicaid is implementing several policy changes in response to COVID-19 to slow the spread of the virus, support healthcare providers and protect more vulnerable North Carolinians.

An additional person from Wake County has tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total of positive cases in North Carolina to eight.

Governor Roy Cooper took the next step in the state's coronavirus COVID-19 preparedness plan today and issued an executive order declaring a state of emergency.

On Monday, March 9, 2020, NC DHHS confirmed 5 new cases of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Wake County, increasing the statewide total to 7. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) is taking proactive steps to protect the health of our community by making recommendations that are meant to slow the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak and reduce the number of people infected.

The Indiana State Department of Health notified North Carolina officials that a person who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 8 was in Durham and Wake counties on March 2 through March 6 while symptomatic. The person is in isolation at home in Indiana.

Five more people in Wake County have tested presumptively positive today for COVID-19 (novel coronavirus). All traveled to Boston in late February to attend a BioGen conference. Several cases of COVID-19 across the country have been tied to the conference.

A second North Carolina person, unrelated to the first case, has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The test, conducted by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, is presumptively positive and will be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab. The person is doing well and is in isolation at home.

As North Carolina continues to prepare for the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, the NC State Laboratory of Public Health (NCSLPH) within the NC Department of Health and Human Services is now able to perform testing for the virus. This new capability allows North Carolina to more quickly take public health steps to respond to any positive test result.

A North Carolina person has tested positive for novel coronavirus (COVID-19). The test, conducted by the North Carolina State Laboratory of Public Health, is presumptively positive and will be confirmed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lab. The person is doing well and is in isolation at home.