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Gaston County inmate tests positive for COVID-19: Real-time updates Friday, April 24

There are now over 8,000 cases of COVID-19 in North Carolina and 4,900 in South Carolina. Meanwhile, Mecklenburg County is reporting more than 1,200 cases.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — At WCNC Charlotte, we are focusing our coronavirus coverage on facts, not fear.  We aim to give our viewers the information they need from officials to best protect themselves during the COVID-19 pandemic.  

For updates from Thursday, April 23, click here

Key Facts:

There were more than 869,00 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States around 5 a.m. ET on Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been over 49,000 deaths in the U.S., with more than 80,000 recoveries. More than 4.6 million tests have been conducted nationwide.

Worldwide, there have been 2.7 million cases and 183,559 deaths.

Fauci cautious optimistic for RNC

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease expert and adviser to President Donald Trump, is cautiously optimistic on-going coronavirus mitigation efforts will allow the Republican National Convention to occur this summer in Charlotte. In an exclusive interview Friday with WCNC Charlotte, Fauci said the city will need to go through the proposed 3-step process for mitigation and control.

RELATED: Exclusive: Dr. Anthony Fauci on what needs to happen for Charlotte to safely host the RNC

RELATED: North Carolina extends stay home order, announces multi-phase reopening plan

RELATED: President Trump unveils 'Guidelines for opening up America again'

North Carolina schools to remain closed rest of the school year

Governor Roy Cooper announced Friday that North Carolina's K-12 public schools will remain closed for in-person learning the remainder of this school year due to COVID-19. 

Cooper said the decision was made after meeting with State Superintendent Mark Johnson and other state education leaders. Johnson said plans are already underway for the 2020-21 school year with hopes of getting schools back open in the fall. 

"We've decided to continue remote learning for the rest of the school year for our K-12 public schools," Governor Cooper said.

Iredell-Statesville School also announced several high school graduation ceremonies have been moved to Saturday, August 1, 2020 for the following schools: Lake Norman High School, North Iredell High School, Pressly Scho, Statesville High Scho, South Iredell High Scho, and West Iredell High School.

Gaston County inmate tests positive for COVID-19

An inmate at the Gaston County Jail has tested positive for coronavirus, officials said. Deputies are now checking inmates' temperatures twice daily. 

Mecklenburg County COVID-19 briefing

Mecklenburg County Manager Dena R. Diorio, Public Health Director Gibbie Harris, and other officials hold a COVID-19 coronavirus briefing in Charlotte. There have been over 1,331 cases and over 37 deaths from coronavirus in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Diorio said the county will allow churches to have drive-up church service but not drive-up communion for this weekend. 

RELATED: Cooper to announce plan for North Carolina schools Friday

RELATED: FDA warns doctors of risks with Trump-promoted malaria drug

Gaston County Small Business Bridge Loans

The Gaston County Board of Commissioners has authorized $500,000 in small business bridge loans to help locally-owned small businesses in Gaston County make it through the financial hardship brought about by COVID-19. Loans to eligible small businesses will be awarded in amounts up to $5,000 to help cover operating expenses until state or federal assistance is available or until the COVID-19 economic crisis passes.

President Trump to sign $500B virus bill

President Donald Trump will be holding a signing ceremony Friday for a bill providing a nearly $500 billion infusion of coronavirus spending, rushing new relief to employers and hospitals buckling under the strain of a pandemic that has claimed almost 50,000 American lives and one in six U.S. jobs.

The measure passed Congress almost unanimously Thursday, but the lopsided tally belies a potentially bumpier path ahead as battle lines are being formed for much more ambitious future legislation that may prove far more difficult to maneuver through Congress.

“Millions of people out of work,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “This is really a very, very, very sad day. We come to the floor with nearly 50,000 deaths, a huge number of people impacted, and the uncertainty of it all. We hope to soon get to a recovery phase. But right now we’re still in mitigation.”

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