Coronavirus changes, announcements for Friday, Aug. 14

The following closures, postponements and changes have been announced due to COVID-19. If you have an announcement to add to the list, please email breakingnews@starnewsonline.com.

COVID-19 cases:

New Hanover County reports 21 deaths due to COVID-19 as of Aug. 13. Positive cases now total 2,790 of which 2,039 have recovered.

Brunswick County reports 22 deaths due to COVID 19 as of Aug. 13. Positive cases now total 1,300, of which 1,074 have recovered. A total of 194 people are isolating and nine people are hospitalized.

Pender County reports 682 confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of Aug. 13. Of those 609 have recovered and three people have died. There have been 4,167 negative tests, five people are hospitalized, and 63 tests are pending.

__________________________________________

Editor’s note: This content is being provided for free as a public service to our readers during the coronavirus outbreak. To support local journalism, please consider subscribing to the StarNews for as little as $1 per month.

__________________________________________

Recent announcements relating to COVID-19:

N.C. Governor Roy Cooper directed $95.6 million in new funding to help support K-12 and post-secondary students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic who can benefit from support during the upcoming school year. The funding is North Carolina’s share of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund, a part of the federal CARES Act. The GEER funds are intended to provide emergency support to school districts, postsecondary institutions, or other education-related entities for addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

An employee at Leland Middle School in Brunswick County has tested positive for COVID-19. Following the health and safety protocols from NCDHHS, the employee is at home quarantining. Two employees who were less than 6 feet for more than 15 minutes of the employee who tested positive are self isolating at home as a precaution. Deep cleaning procedures have taken place at Leland Middle School along with the daily disinfecting procedures.

As COVID-19 continues to impact the entire country, Dogs At Play, have made the decision to close their doors permanently. Dogs At Play will close their doors after Friday, Aug. 14.

A new grant program will soon be available that could help certain businesses or nonprofit organizations impacted by COVID-19. The new Job Retention Grant (JRG) Program is part of House Bill 1023, which N.C. Governor Roy Cooper signed into law July 1. The JRG program utilizes the Coronavirus Relief Fund to provide economic relief to North Carolina businesses and nonprofits negatively impacted by the public health emergency. For more details, visit nccommerce.com/grants-incentives/disaster-recovery/job-retention-grant-jrg?utm_source=iContact&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=nc-commerce&utm_content=

The board of advisors of the New Hanover County Community Foundation recently announced local grant awards from its community grantmaking fund, Lucille Murchison Marvin Fund, Suzanne and George Taylor Endowment Fund, 1898 Memorial Fund and Food Bank of Coastal Carolina Fund. The following three were awarded grants to their response for COVID 19— $2,500 to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina Inc. for responding to COVID-19-related food insecurity in New Hanover, Pender, Brunswick and Columbus counties; $2,050 to Meals on Wheels – Wilmington for COVID-19 response; and $4,420 to Step Up Wilmington for employment and life skills support for families impacted by COVID-19

New Hanover County Board of Commissioners approved a $1.3 million allocation of CARES Act funding to provide financial relief to families in need of childcare for school-aged kids and assistance to households at risk of losing their housing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Families can apply for childcare or housing assistance beginning Aug. 11 by visiting socialservices.nhcgov.com/covid to fill out an application. Those eligible for childcare assistance must have a proven need for childcare for children 3-12 years old and a household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. Those eligible for housing assistance must show a proven need due to COVID-19 and a household income at or below 300% of the federal poverty level. For more information and all eligibility criteria, visit the link above. To reach New Hanover County Social Services, call 910-798-3500.

The N.C. COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loan Program now offers technical assistance for business owners seeking to complete an application. Additionally, the loan’s terms have also changed from a 48-month repayment term to a 60-month repayment term. The N.C. COVID-19 Rapid Recovery Loan Program is reaching out to existing borrowers if their eligibility has changed as a result of these changes. The program is also reaching out to businesses that began, but did not complete, the application. New loans are still available for small-business owners and family farms, and the application can be found on the Rapid Recovery website at ncrapidrecovery.com. Applicants can contact ncrapidrecovery@threadcap.org to connect with technical assistance completing the loan application. To date, the loan program has administered more than 850 Rapid Recovery loans, totaling more than $30 million.

The City of Southport will launch the online “Southport Virtual Merchant Showcase” on Friday, Sept. 4. The showcase will be centered around local retail businesses and restaurants that have taken the “Southport Safe Pledge.” This pledge acknowledges they are committed to helping prevent the spread of COVID-19 and ensuring customers can shop and dine with confidence by following the health safety protocol based on CDC and the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services in their businesses. These measures include five “W’s”: “Wash,” “Wear,” “Wait,” “Wipe Down,” and “Worker Protection.” Southport retail merchants and restaurants within the city limits interested in participating in the Shop/Dine Southport Safe Program can visit the Merchant Info Portal or contact Randy Jones, Southport director of tourism and public information, at rjones@cityofsouthport.com. Interested Market vendors should contact Karen Rife, DSI at krife@downtownsouthport.com or 910-279-4616.

Got a niche and want to be in the know? Subscribe to our free newsletters!