GOVERNOR AND HIS TASK FORCE TEAM. GOV. COOPER: 1000 501 PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL --1501 PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL. AS WE WRESTLE WITH THE SICKNESS CAUSED BY THIS VIRUS, WE KEEP THEM IN OUR PRAYERS. COVID-19 NUMBERS REMAIN TOO HIGH. OUR PERCENT POSITIVE HAS CREPT BACK UP TO AROUND 8%. TODAY WE HAVE THE HIGHEST RATE OF HOSPITALIZATIONS SINCE THE PANDEMIC BEGAN. THESE ARE NUMBERS WE CANNOT IGNORE. OTHER STATES HAVE IT EVEN WORSE RIGHT NOW. THEY SHOULD BE THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE FOR US. LAST WEEK WE TOOK ACTION TO LOWER OUR INDOOR GATHERING LIMIT TO 10 PEOPLE. WE KNOW THIS VIRUS SPREADS EASILY INDOORS. CAPACITY LIMITS REMAIN IN PLACE FOR RETAIL, AND OTHER PLACES. WE CONTINUE TO TELL PEOPLE TO WEAR MASKS AND STAY DISTANT AND STRESS TO ENFORCE THOSE RULES. TODAY WE ARE INTRODUCING A COUNTY ALERT SYSTEM TO IDENTIFY COUNTIES WITH THE HIGHEST COMMUNITY SPREAD. AN OFFER SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW WORKING TOGETHER WITH US CAN BRING DOWN THEIR NUMBERS. COUNTIES ARE DESIGNATED AS RED, ORANGE, OR YELLOW. USING A COMBINATION OF THREE SPECIFIC METRICS THAT DR. MANDY COHEN WILL DETAIL IN JUST A MINUTE. THESE ARE FROM THE SAME SET OF METRICS WE USE EVERY WEEK TO GIVE AN UPDATE ON HOW NORTH CAROLINA IS DOING WITH COVID-19. THE SYSTEM WILL HELP OUR COUNTIES MAKE DECISIONS ABOUT WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS. THE SYSTEM ALSO INCLUDES ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INDIVIDUALS, BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS AND ACTIONS THEY SHOULD TAKE. SIMPLY PUT, THIS NEW COUNTY ALERT SYSTEM SHOWS OUR STATE’S VIRAL HOTSPOTS. LET ME B CLEAR, OUR ENTIRE STATE IS EXPERIENCING WIDESPREAD CASES ACROSS THE COUNTRY ARE SURGING RIGHT NOW, FORCING STATES TO GO BACKWARD THIS COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS. RIGHT NOW NORTH CAROLINA’S METRICS ARE INCREASING, NOT SURGING, BUT A SURGE COULD HAPPEN QUICKLY. IF INDIVIDUALS, BUSINESSES, COMMUNITY AND FAITH LEADERS, AND PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THESE ORANGE AND RED COUNTIES CAN WORK WITH US AND TAKE EFFECTIVE ACTION TO BRING DOWN THEIR NUMBERS, WE CAN PROTECT OUR STATES HOSPITAL SYSTEM AND SAVE LIVES. AND IT CAN PREVENT US FROM HAVING TO TAKE SIGNIFICANT STEPS BACKWARD. I’D LIKE TO ASK DR. COHEN TO PRESENT MORE DETAIL ON HOW THE STATE DEVELOPED THIS MAP AND WHAT WE ARE RECOMMENDING TO COUNTIES. GOV.. DR. COHE THANK YOU GOVERNOR. I AM CONCERNED WHERE WE ARE AS A STATE. OUR PERCENT TESTED POSITIVE CONTINUES TO CLIMB. WHILE OUR HOSPITALS HAV CAPACITY, THEY’RE FEELING THE STRAIN PARTICULARLY IN THE TRIAD AREA. EVEN ACCOUNTING FOR THE FEDERAL CHANGE AND HOW HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE REPORTED, WE ARE SEEING MORE PEOPLE NEEDING HOSPITAL CARE THAN EVER BEFORE. AS YOU NOTED GOVERNOR, COVID-19 TRENDS IN MANY PART OF THE COUNTRY ARE EVEN WORSE. MORE AND MORE STATES ARE TIGHTENING RESTRICTIONS, NOT ALLOWING PEOPLE TO GATHER INDOORS WITH ANYONE OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOUSEHOLD, CLOSING INDOOR GATHERING, -- HERE IN NORTH CAROLINA WE HOPE TO AVOID HAVING TO TAKE SUCH ACTIONS. THE COVID-19 COUNTY ALERT SYSTEM THAT WE ARE INTRODUCING TODAY IS ONE TOOL TO HELP US SLOW THE SPREAD OF THE VIRUS RIGHT NOW. I WILL WALK YOU THROUGH THE DETAILS. ALL NORTH CAROLINA COUNTIES ARE EXPERIENCING HIGH LEVELS OF COMMUNITY TRANSIT -- TRANSMISSION OF COVID-19, BUT IT IS IMPACTING SOME COMMUNITIES HARDER. YOU CAN SE THIS ON OUR DASHBOARD RIGHT NOW. THIS NEW COVID-19 COUNTY ALERT SYSTEM MAKES THIS DATA MORE VISIBLE, MORE UNDERSTANDABLE, SO NORTH CAROLINIANS CAN EASILY SEE HOW THEIR COUNTY IS DOING. HOW IT IMPACTS BUSINESSES, AND INDIVIDUALS CAN TAKE TO SLOW THE SPREAD IN THEIR COUNTY. LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT THE METRICS BEHIND THE COUNTY ALERT SYSTEM. NO ONE METRIC PROVIDES A COMPLETE PICTURE, WE USE A COMBINATION OF THREE METRICS TO CATEGORIZE COUNTIES. THE METRICS ARE INFORMED BY THE WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE AND A NORTH CAROLINA’S KEY METRICS YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH. THE FIRST METRIC IS CASE RATE. HERE IT IS ADJUSTED FOR POPULATION IN THE COUNTY, SO WE CAN COMPARE COUNTIES WITH DIFFERENT SIZE POPULARIZATION -- POPULATIONS. 14 DAYS PER 100,0 PEOPLE. THIS IS THE SAME MEASURE THE WHITE HOUSE CORONAVIRUS TASK FORCE USES. THE SECOND METRIC IS THE PERCENT OF TESTS THAT ARE POSITIVE. THE THIRD METRIC IS A HOSPITAL IMPACT METRIC. THIS IS A COMPOSITE SCORE BASED ON THE PERCENT OF HOSPITALIZATIONS THAT ARE COVERT OR RATED -- COVID RELATED, THE NUMBER OF STAFF AND HOSPITAL BEDS, AND CRITICAL SHORTAGES AND STAFF. I WANT TO THANK OUR HOSPITAL PARTNERS WHO WORKED WITH US TO DETERMINE HOW TO BEST MEASURE THE IMPACT OF THIS PANDEMIC ON HOSPITALS AT THE COUNTY LEVEL. WE USE A COMBINATION OF THESE THREE METRICS I JUST WENT THROUGH TO CATEGORIZE COUNTIES INTO THREE COLORED TIERS TO DESCRIBE THEIR LEVEL OF VIRAL SPREAD AND HEALTH CARE CAPACITY IMPACT. RED IS CRITICAL. ORANGES SUBSTANTIAL. -- ORANGE IS SUBSTANTI, AND YELLOW IS SIGNIFICANT. WE SHOW HOW TO CATEGORIZE COUNTIES INTO THEIR COLOR TEAR. EVERY COUNTY HAS EXPERIENCED COMMUNITY SPREAD, SO TO MOVE FROM YELLOW TO RED OR ORANGE, TWO THINGS HAVE TO HAPPEN. FIRST THE COUNTY HAS TO BE THE CORRECT -- THE CRITERIA -- HE COUNTY HAS TO MEET THE CRITERIA FOR ITS CASE RATE. MORE THAN 200 CASES PER 100,000 FOUR RED. -- FOR RED. EITH -- AN HOSPITAL IMPACT. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOUR COUNTY CROSSES THE CASE RATE THRESHOLD IN THE LEFT-HAND COLUMN AND THERE PERCENT THAT TESTED POSITIVE ARE BETWEEN EIGHT AND 10% OR THE HOSPITAL IMPACT SCORE IS MODERATE, YOUR COUNTY WILL BE ORANGE. MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE, YOU CAN SEE A MAP OF THE STATE SHOWING WHICH COUNTIES MEET THE CRITERIA FOR RED OR ORANGE. WE HAVE 10 COUNTIES THAT ARE RED WITH CRITICAL COMMUNITY SPREAD, AND 43 COUNTIES ARE ORANGE AND THE REMAINING ARE YELLOW WITH SIGNIFICANT COMMUNITY SPREAD. NO MATTER THE COLOR OF YOUR COUNTY, THERE ARE CRITICAL ACTIONS WE CAN TAKE TO SLOW THE SPREAD. STARTING WITH EVERYONE WEARING A MASK WHENEVER YOU LEAVE YOUR HOME. EVERYONE HAS A RESPONSIBILITY, EACH NORTH CAROLINIAN, EACH BUSINESS, EACH PUBLIC OFFICIAL IN EACH COUNTY. RED AND ORANGE COUNTIES NEED TO DO EVEN MORE TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF COVID-19 IN THERE IMMUNITIES. IN THE NEXT FEW SLIDES I’M GOING TO HIGHLIGHT SOME EXAMPLES FOR RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE RED AND ORANGE COUNTIES THAT GO FURTHER ON TOP OF THE ALREADY EXISTING EXECUTIVE ORDERS AND GUIDANCE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY SERVICES. IF YOU LIVE AND A RED OR ORANGE COUN -- IN A RED OR ORANGE COUNTY, -- MINIMIZING THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN YOUR SOCIAL CIRCLES. REDUCE YOUR PUBLIC INTERACTIONS TO MAINLY ESSENTIAL ACTIVITIES AND AVOID SETTINGS WHERE PEOPLE CONGREGATE. FOR BUSINESSES AND COMMITTEE ORGANIZATIONS IN RED AND ORANGE COUNTIES, THEY SHOULD BE USING TELEWORK WHEREVER POSSIBLE, CANCELING NONESSENTIAL WORK TRAVEL, PARTICIPATING IN TRAINING, AND AVOIDING ALL INDOOR MEETINGS AND EVENTS OR GATHERINGS ABOVE 10 PEOPLE. PUBLIC OFFICIALS CAN EXPAND FREE STATE-FUNDED TESTING EVENTS, INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY OF NON-CONGREGATE HOUSING, THEY CAN INCREASE ENFORCEMENT OF GATHERING LIMITS AND MASKS. THEY CAN ALSO ADOPT LOCAL ORGAN -- ORDINANCES WITH CIVIL PENALTIES. A FULL LIST OF RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL OF US AND THE ADDITIONAL ACTIONS FOR RED AND ORANGE COUNTIES IS INCLUDED IN TODAY’S ALERT. THE STATE CAN ALSO PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SUPPORT. COUNTIES ARE NOT ON THEIR OWN. AGAIN HELP WITH SHARING MESSAGES ABOUT PREVENTION, WE CAN WORK TOGETHER ON ENFORCEMENT, WE CAN RAMP UP TESTING TOGETHER, WE CAN SUPPORT LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND ALLOW SUPPORT SERVICES SO THAT PEOPLE CAN AFFORD TO STAY HOME AND ISOLATE OR QUARANTINE. THE COUNTY ALERT SYSTEM IS NOW POSTED ON OUR WEBSITE. MOVING FORWARD, WE WILL PUBLISH THIS REPORT MONTHLY. COUNTIES THAT ARE IDENTIFIED AS MEETING THE CRITERIA FOR RED OR ORANGE TEARS WILL STAY IN THOSE TWO YEARS FOR AT LEAST FOUR WEEKS TO GIVE THEM TIME TO MAKE PROGRESS. TODAY I HAVE COVERED A LOT OF GROUND. THE COVID-19 SYSTEM GIVES NORTH CAROLINIANS AN EASY WAY TO SEE HOW THEIR COUNTY IS DOING, AND KNOW WHAT THEY CAN DO TO HELP PROTECT THEIR FAMILY AND NEIGHBORS TO SLOW THE SPREAD OF THIS VIRUS. WITH THE NEWS ON THE VACCINE FRONT, WE NEED TO DO WHAT WE HAVE DONE THROUGHOUT THIS PANDEMIC, WORK TOGETHER TO AVOID THE THREATENING SITUATIONS MANY OTHER STATES ARE FACING RIGHT NOW. I KNOW WE CAN DO THIS. TIME AND A