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CAPE FEAR MEMORIAL BRIDGE CLOSURE: UPDATES, RESOURCES, AND CONTEXT
Gathered at the bottom of this page is WHQR's ongoing reporting and coverage on COVID-19. In addition, below is a list of other resources pertaining to the virus.For questions/concerns about COVID-19, call the NC Coronavirus Helpline at 1-866-462-3821. To find out about the availability of community resources, call 211 or visit nc211.orgFor Brunswick County, the COVID-19 Helpline is 910-253-2339. The email is coronavirus@brunswickcountync.gov. New Hanover County's Helpline is 910-798-6800. National Resources Basic Protective Measures from the Coronavirus Coronavirus Myth Busters Coronavirus FAQs and Answers National Coronavirus Case Tracker Protecting Yourself and Your Family Preventing COVID-19 Spread in Communities International Travel Advisories Local ResourcesTesting in North Carolina State Case Count New Hanover County Updates and Info Brunswick County Updates and Info Pender County Updates and Info New Hanover Regional Medical Center Updates New Hanover Disaster Coalition Novant HealthDosher Memorial HospitalWAVE TransitWilmington HealthUNCWWHQR's Community Resources

As Demand For Shelters Rises, Staff Find New Ways To Maintain Six-Foot Distance

CDC.gov
The CDC recommends flipping beds to head to toe to help maintain 6 feet of distance.

Finding a way to serve people who are homeless is posing new problems in the age of COVID-19.  

Maintaining physical distance is increasingly difficult as shelters see higher demand.  

But Audrey Hart, Executive Director of New Hanover Disaster Coalition, says people in the shelters are finding new ways to do just that. 

"The CDC recommends doing head to toe. So if you can't provide six feet, just switch the beds – flip the bed so that it's head to toe. And so we're working with a lot of our partners to figure out what their capacity is, where their service gaps are and everything like that. So it's definitely changing it. It's a very new world for us."

North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen says conditions in shelters are very much top of mind for her agency.

"We are definitely working here in the state to come up with various types of housing plans and then working with FEMA and other federal partners to get the funding and approvals needed to make that happen."

Housing is a hard issue, says Cohen, in the best of times.  But officials are also looking to establish places where sick people can recover if they contract COVID-19.

Rachel hosts and produces CoastLine, an award-winning hourlong conversation featuring artists, humanitarians, scholars, and innovators in North Carolina. The show airs Wednesdays at noon and Sundays at 4 pm on 91.3 FM WHQR Public Media. It's also available as a podcast; just search CoastLine WHQR. You can reach her at rachellh@whqr.org.