NCDHHS

Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) Program to Assist Local Families

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-Press Release, Granville County Government

North Carolina has received approval from the USDA to initiate a new Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer (P-EBT) program. This program will assist families who have been impacted by school closings, due to COVID-19, in purchasing food for their children.

Those who are eligible include:

  • School-age children who currently receive free or reduced lunch;
  • Children receiving Food and Nutrition Services benefits; and
  • Non-FNS households.

P-EBT benefits will be issued from the Department of Public Instruction this week (week of April 27, 2020) for Food and Nutrition Services (FNS) households and the week of May 4, 2020, for non-FNS households. This new program is in addition to other services that families may already be participating in.

There is no application process to receive P-EBT benefits. For those already receiving FNS services, benefits will be automatically placed on the family’s EBT card. Non-FNS households will receive an explanatory letter in the mail from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) and will be issued a new P-EBT card, which will be a plain white card with either the parents’ names or the child’s name. The back of the card will display EBT information. These cards will be useable for 365 days.

Families will be able to use the P-EBT card to purchase food items at EBT-authorized retailers, including most major grocery stores, and are encouraged to continue utilizing feeding programs and local school and community sites. To find local meal sites, participants can text FOODNC to 877-877. The service is also available in Spanish by texting COMIDA to 877-877.

For more information, program participants may call the EBT call center at 1-888-622-7328, download the ebtEDGE mobile app at www.ebtedgemobile.com, or go to the NCDHHS website at https://www.ncdhhs.gov.

Warren County Logo

Warren County Reports Nine Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, No Virus-Related Deaths

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-Information courtesy Warren County, NC

As of the afternoon of April 29, 2020, the Warren County Health Department received two (2) new positive cases of COVID-19, bringing the total confirmed cases to nine (9).

Two of those nine cases have recovered and there are zero (0) deaths related to COVID-19 in Warren County.

The numbers reported are not a net total; they are a sum total. This means that recovered cases are not subtracted from the total that is reported.

Health officials have already established that community spread is happening across the nation, so please continue to stay at home as much as possible, follow the stay at home order and Warren County curfew and implement safety precautions when out in public.

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

Twelve COVID-19 Related Deaths Reported in the Granville, Vance District

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-Information courtesy Granville Vance Public Health

As of April 29, 2020, there are 135 known COVID-19 cases in Granville County, 87 cases in Vance County, and 9,948 confirmed cases in North Carolina.

There are two outbreaks at congregate living facilities in the district – one at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, NC and one at Pelican Health Nursing Home in Henderson, NC.

Of the total positive cases in each county, 86 in Granville County are associated with the prison and 34 in Vance County are associated with the nursing home.

Of the 49 community-based cases in Granville County, 24 have been released from isolation and 46 of the 86 cases at the prisons have been released from isolation.

Of the 87 cases in Vance, 19 have been released from isolation and 6 are hospitalized.

There have been a total of 12 deaths in the health district – 6 in Vance County and 6 with the Bureau of Prisons in Granville County.

GVPH has created graphs (click here to view) to regularly share data about new cases over time, cumulative cases, and demographics of cases in our counties. Graphs will be updated on Tuesdays and Fridays.

GVPH updates its website daily with Vance and Granville COVID-19 statistics. Please visit www.gvph.org/COVID-19/ for the latest information.

Henderson Collegiate: State Co-CHAMPS 1A Basketball

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Late Wednesday afternoon, the Henderson Collegiate Pride was announced as the state co-champions in 1-A men’s basketball.  Head coach George Marshall had already appeared earlier in the day on WIZS Sports Mayhem with Kemp Collins and Ron Noel at 1 p.m. to make another big announcement.

Our Trey Snide of WIZS has the audio update…

 

Triangle North Healthcare Foundation Establishes COVID-19 Relief Fund

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-Information courtesy the Granville County Chamber of Commerce

Triangle North Healthcare Foundation recently announced the establishment of a COVID-19 Relief Fund to assist area nonprofits in their COVID-19 relief and recovery efforts.

These organizations are on the front lines in our communities, providing safety nets, support, and continued services during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many were already operating with limited capacity prior to this crisis and are now facing increasing stresses on their financial and human resources.

If you are leading such an organization, serving the people of Franklin, Granville, Vance, or Warren counties, the Foundation would like to hear from you.

The Foundation’s Grants Coordinator Carolyn Powell and Executive Director Val Short are both available to discuss ideas for grant projects or relief initiatives. Contact the Foundation by email at info@tnhfoundation.org or call 252-430-8532 to schedule an appointment.

A grant application is required and can be accessed through the Foundation’s Grant Portal at http://www.tnhfoundation.org/ Please contact the Foundation first to discuss your program or project ideas prior to beginning the application process.

A COVID-19 resource page has also been established on the Foundation’s website, which contains links to resources and current information about the pandemic. Please send your organization’s local links for COVID-19 resources to info@tnhfoundation.org for inclusion on the website. 

TownTalk 04/29/20: GVPH ‘Virtual Town Hall’ COVID-19 Session (Audio/Video)

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Granville Vance Public Health (GVPH) hosted a “Virtual Town Hall” session live via its Facebook page today at 11 a.m.

GVPH Director Lisa Harrison, GVPH Medical Director Dr. Shauna Guthrie and Oxford Mayor Jackie Sergent addressed the on-going COVID-19 epidemic and answered questions that were submitted by the public.

Live for our Virtual Town Hall on COVID-19 in Granville County!

Posted by Granville Vance Public Health on Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Questions the government and health officials addressed in the session included:

Q: Is there mapping available that would show COVID-19 cases by location in the county?

A: That is not currently available because the population in Vance and Granville counties does not have a lot of variability in zip code. The numbers aren’t as high as more populated counties such as Mecklenburg or Wake.

Q: Why is GVPH not sharing the number of COVID-19 tests administered on its website?

A: The number of tests administered continues to increase and is hard to capture. One reason is that there are many providers – private practices, hospitals, health departments and groups in primary care – offering the test. Also, the Electronic Disease Surveillance System does not require labs and physicians to enter negative results, only positive.

Harrison reported that while there is not an official number, more than 500 tests have been administered across Vance and Granville counties.

Q: Will GVPH let us know if we’ve been in contact with someone who has tested positive?

A: It depends on the level of contact. Anytime someone tests positive, GVPH receives an alert. They contact the person who tested positive to see who they’ve been in contact with 2-3 days prior to symptoms starting. The biggest concern is those that have been in close contact with the infected person, either by standing closer than six-feet together for an extended period of time and/or being in a small room together.

People who are deemed at-risk are notified and advised to stay home and quarantine for at least 14 days.

Q: Have those who previously tested positive for COVID-19, and have since been lifted from isolation, been retested?

A: No, they have not been retested. GVPH is following the CDC’s guidelines to determine when a person is no longer contagious. The general rule is a person is considered no longer contagious when it has been at least seven days since testing positive and they’ve had no fever for 72 hours and symptoms have greatly improved.

Q: What can we do to make residents take stay at home and social orders seriously?

A: We need to keep emphasizing that the virus can be spread whether a person has symptoms or not; many are asymptomatic. We also need to be less quick to blame others and examine our own behaviors.

Q: Does our community have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) – gowns, masks and gloves?

A: Yes, so far the requests that have been made have been fulfilled. There are also many volunteers in the community providing these supplies and their support is greatly appreciated.

Q: Have residents with COVID-19 at Pelican Health Nursing Home in Henderson been moved to another facility?

A: There are 66 residents and 150 staff (full-time, part-time and contractors) associated with Pelican Health Henderson. All residents and many of the staff were tested within 48 hours of identifying the first positive resident. All the residents who tested positive and are symptomatic have been isolated.

To hear the session in its entirety, including additional Q&A, please watch the video contained in this article, or visit the Granville Vance Public Health Department’s Facebook page (click here).

Click below for TownTalk audio:

 

NCDHHS

Low Income Energy Assistance Program Offers One-Time Supplement

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-Press Release, Granville County Government

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services will be issuing a one-time supplement payment for all households that were approved for Low Income Energy Assistance (LIEAP) benefits during the 2019-2020 application period.

The supplement amounts will be based on household size and approved LIEAP benefit amounts and will be paid directly to the household’s primary heating vendor.

The one-time supplements are scheduled to be issued by NC Fast on the night of May 11, 2020. A notice will be mailed to households informing them of the supplement payments.

For more details, please contact the Granville County Department of Social Services at 919-693-1511.

Granville County Logo

Granville Co. Commissioners May 4 Meeting Canceled

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-Information courtesy Debra A. Weary, Clerk to the Board, Granville County

The May 4, 2020, meeting of the Granville County Board of Commissioners has been canceled.

The next meeting will be held on May 18, 2020, at 7 p.m. as previously scheduled. The format of the meeting will be determined at a later date.

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H-V Chamber Announces New E-Gift Card Program to Support Local Businesses

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-Information courtesy the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce

The Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce is working with local retail stores and restaurants to develop a new e-gift card program. The Chamber partnered with the Gift Fly company to make this process easy for local business owners in an effort to generate some additional business commerce in the city and county.

Citizens who want to shop online with local businesses can go to the Chamber’s website at www.hendersonvance.org, click on the tab “Shop E-Gift Card” at the top of the home page and view the list of local businesses who have signed on to the program. Three local businesses: Franklin Brothers Nursery and Greenhouses, Sadie’s Coffee Corner and The Home Decorator Shoppe have already signed up to participate and accept the e-gift cards.

More businesses will be added this week, just in time for Mother’s Day shopping and Teacher Appreciation Week.

If you are a business owner who wants to sign up – click this link: https://www.giftfly.com/?affiliate_code=WZS0-W7IM-75A1

Example of how the e-gift card program works:

When a citizen wants to give a gift to honor their child’s teacher next week for Teacher Appreciation Week, for example, they would go to the Chamber’s website, click on the shop tab, put in the amount they want to spend, put in the teacher’s email address, add a thank you message to him/her, add their own personal credit card number and hit send.

The e-gift card and thank you message immediately gets sent to the teacher’s email box. The teacher then prints out the e-gift card and takes it with them to that store at a later time to shop.