Bladen County had no new confirmed cases of COVID-19 during the week and remained at only one confirmed case as of Saturday, April 11, according to the Bladen County Department of Health and Human Services.
Statewide, there had been 4,312 cases and 80 deaths as of 11 a.m. Saturday, according to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.
Many Bladen County businesses remained closed or were open under restrictions imposed by state or local governments as “social distancing” became the norm.
Gov. Roy Cooper (pictured, left) issued a pair of executive orders during the week aimed at preventing the spread of the potentially deadly coronavirus.
On Wednesday, Cooper took action to provide more access to health care beds and get more medical workers to respond to the rising demand due the COVID-19 pandemic. He signed Executive Order No. 130, which expands the pool of health care workers and orders essential childcare services for workers responding to the crisis.
On Thursday, the Governor took action to address the spread of COVID-19 by issuing stronger social distancing requirements and speeding up the process to get benefits to people out of work through Executive Order No. 131. The order takes effect Monday, April 13 at 5 p.m. Among other items, the order requires retail stores that are still operating to implement new social distancing policies.
There were signs that people in Bladen County were doing their part to help fight the disease.
Cape Fear Distillery (pictured, above) was making hand sanitizer.
Bladen County Schools nutrition staff was working hard to fee students.
Businesses such as Leinwand’s and others were offering home delivery. Restaurants continued to serve takeout, curbside and delivery orders.
Through it all, many people were showing signs of support, gratitude and prayers through the display of ribbons.
In sports, while there still were no games nor practies for local athletes, there were notable accomplishments by former West Bladen High School athletes.
Sayaun Dent (pictured, above) was named the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III Player of the Year. He led Sandhills Community College to the national championship, scoring 27 points in the championship game. He also was named first team all-American.
Brandon Council committed to play football at Auburn after spending the past two seasons as an offensive lineman at Akron University. Auburn graduated four seniors from last season’s offensive lineman.
Also, East Bladen senior Jon Von Rupp signed to play soccer at Cape Fear Community College. He had nine goals, five assists and 254 steals for the Three Rivers Conference champion Eagles.
In other news,
Antonio Lamel Murchison (pictured, left), 26, and Eric Christopher Bennett (pictured, right), 33, both of Murchison Drive in Elizabethtown, are charged with first degree murder in the death of Donovan Butler, 25, of Fayetteville, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.
An announcement is expected soon that the bridge spanning the Cape Fear River in Elizabethtown will be replaced. The bridge has been under inspection and maintenance since Hurricane Florence hit Bladen County in 2018.
The state Department of Environmental Quality will require extensive revisions to the proposed Corrective Action Plan submitted by Chemours on December 31 due to inadequacies in the plan. The purpose of the Corrective Action Plan is to address remediation of groundwater and soil and significantly reduce PFAS flowing from onsite groundwater into surface water.
Stay safe, practice social distancing and enjoy the week ahead.
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