The Class of 2020 will forever be remembered as the “asterisk” class. Whether it be high school, community college or university, the instructional disruption that came about in North Carolina in mid-March as the result of the COVID-19 outbreak will be as much a part of their permanent records as their marks in reading, writing and ‘rithmetic. 

Since the Coronavirus Pandemic began in earnest in Haywood County in mid-March, emergency physician Dr. Mark Jaben has been the face of the county’s response, so much so that he’s now regularly stopped on the area’s hiking trails by strangers exclaiming, “Hey, you’re the guy from YouTube!”

Maggie Valley is projecting a more than 16 percent decline in revenue for the 2020-21 fiscal year due to the shutdown caused by the COVID 19 crisis.

As expected, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced that he believes the state is ready to begin phase 2 of his three-phase reopening plan, although the increasing number of cases warrants a more modest reopening than originally planned.

Macon County Public Health has identified a COVID-19 cluster of positive cases in an area church located in Franklin.

In accordance with Executive Order 141, the ABC Commission will temporarily allow On-Premise ABC permit holders to include additional outdoor seating as part of their licensed premises if that space is approved by the appropriate local government entity. 

RALEIGH — The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) is reporting the state’s highest one-day number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with 1,107 cases reported. 

By Sally Kestin

AVL Watchdog

It began with one employee falling ill from the coronavirus. By Friday morning, just 11 days later, 55 elderly and infirmed residents at the Aston Park Health Care Center in southwest Asheville and at least 30 of its staff had tested positive. Four residents had died, and one was hospitalized.

Macon County Public Health has identified three additional positive cases of COVID-19. All three are unrelated to the positive essential workers at an area business.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting its first case of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) associated with COVID-19.