CCHD COVID-19 Update #29 (April 21, 2020)…No New Coronavirus Cases

LENOIR, NC (April 21, 2020) — Here is the Caldwell County Health Department COVID-19 Update for Tuesday, April 21, 2020.

Confirmed COVID-19 Cases		COVID-19 Deaths	COVID-19 Tests Conducted	Negative Tests	Recovered Patients
23		0	1200	1070	14
CONFIRMED CASES BY ZIP CODE
28638	5		28645	14
28630	3		28601	1

*Total cases updated 4-21-2020 at 4 p.m.

No new COVID-19 cases were reported in Caldwell County today.

Additional Information

• Beginning Thursday, April 23, operating hours for Caldwell UNC Health Care Respiratory Diagnostic Center will be Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. and Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

• North Carolina Emergency Management and its State Emergency Response Team partners have formed a Food Supply Chain Working Group to address food production and distribution issues across the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, to help ensure all North Carolinians are fed. On Wednesday, the North Carolina National Guard will begin providing personnel and vehicles to assist the food banks. Each food bank will receive a support package of approximately 40 personnel and 15 cargo vehicles, tailored to the needs of the food bank and those they serve. National Guard soldiers and airmen will be performing a range of tasks including warehouse and forklift operations, meal distribution, as well as food transportation and delivery to Area Agencies on Aging and school nutrition programs.

• North Carolina has been approved for the new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program, to help families purchase food for children impacted by school closings due to COVID-19. The program provides a benefit on an EBT card to North Carolina families whose children are eligible for free and reduced lunch at school. Families will receive $250 in P-EBT benefits per child, provided in two installments, with the possibility of an additional benefit if North Carolina schools are closed beyond May 15. Families will be able to use the P-EBT benefit to purchase food items at EBT authorized retailers, including most major grocery stores.

Families will not need to apply for the P-EBT program. P-EBT eligible families already receiving Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) benefits will receive an additional benefit on their existing EBT card. P-EBT eligible families not already enrolled in FNS will be mailed a new EBT card in the next few weeks. Families who receive a new EBT card will receive a letter from DHHS in the mail explaining how to activate and use their card.

• Caldwell Community College and Technical Institute will begin registering for the Summer Semester on Wednesday, April 22. Academic advisors are ready to help by phone or online. Scholarships and financial aid are available. To get started, call 828-726-2200 or visit cccti.edu.

For local information about Coronavirus, visit www.caldwellcountync.org/coronavirus-covid-19 or call the Caldwell County Health Department Health Information Line at 828-426-8456 or the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at s828-426-8605.  Resources are available in Spanish at www.caldwellcountync.org/coronavirus-covid-19/enfermedades-coronavirus-2019-respuesta-covid-19.