Topics Related to COVID-19

RALEIGH — A Maury Correctional Institution offender with pre-existing medical conditions, who tested positive for COVID-19, died Thursday night at a hospital.

The application period for the Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program will close at 6 p.m. Friday, Dec. 17, with available federal funding committed to applications currently in-process and those expected in the week ahead.

Since opening last fall, the N.C. Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program has awarded $593.7 million in rent and utility assistance, with more than $518 million already paid on behalf of families financially impacted by COVID-19.

The N.C. Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program marked its Oct. 15 one-year anniversary with more than a half-billion dollars in pandemic relief funds awarded to North Carolina landlords and utility companies on behalf of vulnerable families.

The N.C. Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program continues to rank No. 2 in the nation for number of households served and No. 6 for spending of federal Emergency Rental Assistance (ERA) Program funding.

In response to a resource request submitted to FEMA, North Carolina has received 25 Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulances each with a two-person crew of EMS providers.   The ambulances and crews have been assigned to assist nine county Emergency Medical Systems that are experiencing greatly increased calls for service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The N.C. Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program has distributed more than $342 million in rent and utility payment to 96,944 North Carolina households since opening last fall. The HOPE Program now ranks #2 in the nation for number of households served and North Carolina ranks #6 for spending of federal Emergency Rental Assistance Program money, which is funding the current phase of the program.

RALEIGH — A staffing shortage at two Asheville-area prisons has led to a temporary reconfiguring of staff and offenders.

Craggy Correctional Center and Swannanoa Correctional Center for Women both have significant staff vacancies. To create safer staff-to-offender ratios, the state prisons system this week temporarily closed one unit at Swannanoa and reassigned 25 correctional staff from that unit to Craggy.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued a new residential eviction moratorium that will offer protection from eviction for most renters in North Carolina. The moratorium, which will remain in effect through Oct. 3, 2021, applies in U.S.

The Housing Opportunities and Prevention of Evictions (HOPE) Program has announced program changes to accept referrals of tenants from landlords and increase financial awards to North Carolina households that apply for pandemic-related rent and utility assistance. The new guidelines aim to help even more renters get back on their feet while also assisting landlords that have lost income due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.