New research predicts long-term pain for the labor market due to around 3 million workers who plan to remain permanently sidelined over concerns of physical illness or physical impairment due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
All tagged pandemic
John Hood: Feds blew it on COVID relief
If ever there was justification for sudden, expedited, large-scale federal expenditure, the COVID crisis was it. Americans faced a deadly pandemic.
State of emergency continues with new ways to measure COVID
Gov. Roy Cooper said North Carolina's state of emergency will continue, despite declining COVID numbers.
NC Senate fails to override mask veto, votes for adjournment
The N.C. Senate voted Wednesday evening to adjourn the longest long session of the legislature in decades, effective March 10. The adjournment resolution calls to reconvene the state legislature on April 4, then gavel out until May 4. The beginning of the short session would officially begin on May 18.
Report: Elementary students lag in literacy due to pandemic
A research brief from curriculum publisher Amplify shows that elementary school students continue to lag behind in literacy almost two years into the COVID-19 pandemic.
N.C.’s largest school district still hemorrhaging students due to pandemic
North Carolina’s largest school district continues to feel the impact of pandemic-related reductions in its student population, and those impacts will be felt for at around a decade, according to a report presented to the Wake County Board of Education on Wednesday, Feb. 9.
North Carolina announces more participants for the community economic recovery and resiliency initiative
The North Carolina Department of Commerce will continue the Community Economic Recovery and Resiliency Initiative (CERRI) by supporting 16 additional communities with their economic recovery following the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
As Cooper pushes vaccines, Cohen says she has no plans to seek elected office
Gov. Roy Cooper and state health secretary Dr. Mandy Cohen addressed the nascent Omicron variant Tuesday, Nov. 30, but they were reticent to raise alarms, in contrast to local media reports over the past couple of days.
NCDHHS announces new program to help families pay water bills
The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services today announced the State of North Carolina has been awarded more than $38 million in federal funding to establish a new water assistance program for households affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Operation Christmas Child continues despite rising costs, supply chain issues
Rampant inflation, supply chain issues, and the COVID-19 pandemic aren’t dampening the Christmas spirit at the international Christian charity Samaritan’s Purse.
Governor Cooper signs four bills into law
“Small businesses that are hiring workers, navigating supply chains and emerging from the pandemic must not endure a tax increase and this legislation fixes that.”
Teacher’s union on decline as pandemic-weary parents clamor for more options
North Carolina’s self-described teachers’ union still has clout with many Democratic lawmakers in the legislature, but its influence — and popularity — with teachers and everyday North Carolinians appears to be waning.
Governor Cooper pushes vaccination requirements and urges schools districts to keep mask mandates
"We know that keeping kids learning in the classroom is the most important thing for our students right now. Getting vaccinated, wearing a mask in public indoor settings and following the science is what we need to do," said Governor Cooper. "The faster we put this pandemic behind us, the sooner we can all rest easy and stay healthy."
Attorney General Josh Stein and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler urge loan forgiveness for farmers
Attorney General Josh Stein and Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler today urged U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to make eligible farmers for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) program. The PSLF program forgives the remaining loan balance of a Federal Direct Loan borrower who works for 10 years in a public service job while making loan payments relative to their income.
Governor Cooper visits Lenoir County Health Department to encourage more North Carolinians to get their lifesaving vaccine
Governor Roy Cooper visited a vaccine clinic at the Lenoir County Health Department to encourage more North Carolinians get their COVID-19 shot.
New report shows academic, social impact of pandemic-era school shutdowns on students
A new report is shedding light on the academic, social, and mental-health damage caused by school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cooper to let mask mandates expire, says schools ‘should’ require masks in K-8
Gov. Roy Cooper will allow existing state mask mandates to expire on July 30, but he's recommending required masking for public school students in kindergarten through middle school. Cooper emphasized those changes during a Wednesday afternoon press conference on updated state COVID-19 guidance.
Hooks retires after four years of storms, riots, and a pandemic
Hooks, secretary of the state Department of Public Safety, has served in the role since the beginning of Cooper’s first term. He helped oversee North Carolina's response to hurricanes, violence in understaffed prisons, mob teardowns of Confederate statues on public property, last summer’s riots and protests, and the COVID pandemic.
Health officials encourage parents to get preteens and teens up to date on immunizations
Governor Roy Cooper has proclaimed July Adolescent Immunization Awareness Month to highlight the importance of immunizations for North Carolina’s preteens and teens. As teachers, parents and students are preparing for the start of the 2021-22 school year, public health officials remind parents and guardians to ensure their teens and preteens are current on all their vaccinations and encourage health care providers to take steps to ensure their young patients are up to date.
President Biden urges more North Carolinians to get the COVID vaccine
President Biden visited the Green Road Community Center in Raleigh to urge North Carolinians who haven’t been vaccinated yet to go get their shots, saying that vaccination is the best way to protect themselves from COVID-19 and ensure a return to life as normal.