Two elected boards—the Craven County Board of Commissioners and the Craven County Board of Education—will meet sometime after Sept. 17 to discuss concerns over the COVID-19 remote learning plan that is in place for Craven County Schools for the first nine weeks of the school year. The meeting was precipitated by the Board of Commissioners, which asked for the meeting when Republican members of the board questioned the necessity to keep children out of the classroom. As COVID-19 has spread in Craven County, it has become a partisan issue over whether to restrict businesses, close schools, and even wear masks. Craven County has 1,289 lab-confirmedRead More →

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Craven County Schools issued a news release on its website and via social media to report several cases of COVID-19 earlier this week, as it has done in the past. There were two things that were different, however. First, the district didn’t say what or which schools were affected by the new cases. Second, this news release listed students as being among those who tested positive for the virus. The Post contacted Jennifer Wagner, spokesperson for Craven County Schools, asking for more information. She responded. The two issues are actually entwined in HIPAA, the federal health law that among other things protects patient privacy. “BasedRead More →

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Just as COVID-19 outbreaks at Craven County nursing homes are brought under control (see chart below), Craven County assisted living complexes are experiencing outbreaks of their own. Croatan Village Assisted Living Facility reported 24 residents have tested positive for the virus at a facility that started with two cases, all among staff, according to new and previously released data. It is a licensed 72-bed assisted living and memory care facility located at 4522 Old Cherry Point Road. Courtyards at Berne Village reports that four staff and two residents have the virus. The 80-bed facility is located at 2701 Amhurst Blvd. in New Bern. And RHARead More →

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In a touching ceremony held on Sept. 11, 2020 in front of CarolinaEast Medical Center, President and CEO Ray Leggett recognized his entire health system family for their efforts during the COVID pandemic. In these unusual times, the 4th Annual Scott Whitford Unsung Hero Award is being shared amongst nearly 2,700 team members at CarolinaEast. CarolinaEast has many recognition programs, but one special award, the Scott Whitford Unsung Hero of the Year Award, is in honor of a beloved member of the CarolinaEast family who lost his life saving others. Whitford was a carpenter in CarolinaEast’s facility services department for seven years who, on JuneRead More →

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An unidentified Craven County resident with underlying health conditions died today (Sept. 11, 2020) of complications related to COVID-19, the Craven County Health Department said. The person was tested on Sept. 10 and results showed positive for COVID-19 the same day. The person died the next day. No further information about the individual will be released to protect the family’s privacy, the Health Department said. It was the second death this week from the virus, and third in September. August has been the deadliest month in Craven County, with 17 deaths. The number of lab-confirmed COVID-19 cases reached 1,234 as of 11 a.m. today, addingRead More →

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An unidentified person died of COVID-19-related causes today, becoming the 29th Craven County resident to die from complications related to the Novel Coronavirus. As with all other Craven County deaths, the individual had underlying health conditions. The individual was tested for COVID-19 on Aug. 17, 2020 and resulted positive on Aug. 20, 2020. The death was reported to the Craven County Health Department on Sept. 10, 2020. To protect the family’s privacy, no further information about the individual will be released. Craven County has 1,210 confirmed COVID-19 cases as of 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 10, 2020. Of those, 223 are active, nine are hospitalized, andRead More →

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Four students and three staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 at Craven County Schools, the district announced Wednesday night. Students have been attending classes remotely, while staff and faculty have been working from their respective campuses. “While we cannot legally release the identity of the individuals, we can inform you that our school nurses, in consultation with the Craven County Health Department, have been investigating these cases and anyone who may have had close contact with the positive individuals in the 48 hours prior to developing symptoms has been quarantined,” the school district said in a news release. Close contact refers to the individualRead More →

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An unidentified Craven County resident died from complications related to COVID-19 on Sunday, Sept. 6, 2020. The individual had underlying health conditions. The individual was Craven County’s 28th fatality related to COVID-19, which first emerged in the county in mid-March. The individual was tested for COVID-19 on Aug. 19, 2020, and resulted positive on Aug. 20, 2020. The death was reported to the Craven County Health Department on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. To protect the family’s privacy, no further information about the individual will be released. Craven County leads its neighboring counties in COVID-19 related deaths. For example, Pitt County leads the region with 4,044Read More →

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Craven County health officials have come up short trying to find the sources of 41 COVID-19 infections and have added a new category of contagion: “Unknown.” “With the number of cases increasing, this was done as a way for me to separate those cases that are still being investigated and those that are truly unknown,” said Amber Tabarrini, public information officer for the Craven County Health Department. “The ‘unknown’ cases are those that the Communicable Disease staff are not able to get information from after many attempts with phone calls and letters being mailed. “We may not have a good working phone number for some individualsRead More →

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By North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper This pandemic has affected every corner of our state, including our state budget needs. For many families, it has also shifted their priorities. Last week, I proposed a budget that tackles the challenges we’re facing today while building for the promise of tomorrow. We can emerge from this crisis even stronger than before if we invest wisely. My budget, Support for a Determined North Carolina, uses the state’s remaining $900 million CARES Act funding to continue responding to COVID-19 and providing relief to communities. I’ve proposed for $175 million to go toward critical public health services, including contact tracing andRead More →

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