All in NC News

Josh Stein: Don’t fall for fake vaccine cards

More than 3 million North Carolinians are now fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus. This is a remarkable step forward in our fight against the pandemic, and soon we can begin safely returning to our lives. But scammers have used the pandemic as an excuse to take advantage of people for the past year, and they’re still at it. The next fight against COVID-19 vaccine scams is stopping the spread and use of false vaccine cards.

Kinston-based Magic Mile Media partners with Lexington digital news startup

With print papers across the nation moving toward regional and national consolidation, local news is harder to come by in smaller communities. “Magic Mile Media launched Neuse News in 2018 out of frustration with a lack of community backyard news the way it used to be told 60 years ago,” said BJ Murphy, owner of Magic Mile Media, Inc. and publisher of Neuse News. With the help of Magic Mile Media, Lexington-based DavidsonLocal.com launches on Monday, April 5, and already has over 250 daily subscribers. In less than two and a half years of publication, Neuse News has 5,000 daily subscribers. The all-digital local news model, based on the experiences of Neuse News, will feature current events, investigative pieces, and more local content for Davidson County, NC.

CMS relaxes guidance for visitation in long-term care facilities; NCDHHS rescinds LTCF visitation Secretarial order

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is updating its visitation guidance for long-term care facilities to allow for in-person, indoor or outdoor, visitation in most circumstances. The change aligns with new guidance released this week from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and reflects rapidly improving trends in long-term care facilities.

COVID-19 cases declining rapidly in North Carolina long-term care settings

New COVID-19 cases in North Carolina long-term care facilities have declined rapidly in the last several weeks. Case rates are down over 15-fold in skilled nursing facilities, adult care homes and other licensed facilities since the peak of transmission in January 2021. Given the rapid decline in new cases, most facilities currently meet criteria to resume indoor visitation while continuing to follow infection prevention recommendations.