Around the Triangle, people enjoyed state parks and open spaces this weekend, as the state transitioned from a stay-at-home order to Phase 1 of easing of certain COVID-19 restrictions. Officials say they are monitoring data as residents continue to embrace a phased-in reopening of businesses.
On Sunday, health officials reported roughly 400 new coronavirus cases and only 3 new deaths in their latest count. The updated numbers released by the state health department show the total number of cases statewide grew to 14,764. The death count increased from 544 to 547. The rate of positive tests for the virus remained under 10 percent.
Photographer Kate Medley captured some of the scenes from around the region.
PHOTO GALLERY:
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Olivia Bornkessel (left) and her mother Kerrie Bornkessel enjoy a picnic on Sunday in Moore Square in Raleigh, NC. They picked up fried chicken and waffle sandwiches from Parkside Restaurant to celebrate Mother's Day.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
The campus of the North Carolina Museum of Art was packed with visitors on Sunday afternoon.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Michael and Marie Lawton traveled from southeast Raleigh to the North Carolina Museum of Art to enjoy the beautiful weather with their children (from R-L: Michaella, 8, Imani, 18, and Leylah, 13). When asked what she wanted for Mother's Day, Marie had told her family, "To get out of the house!"
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Laura LeBlanc, of Raleigh, NC, graduated from Duke University School of Nursing with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing on Saturday by way of an online ceremony. Friends accompanied her to Duke Chapel to mark the occasion with photographs. LeBlanc will soon start a new job at Duke's intensive care nursery.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Kendal Kee, 18, is a graduating senior at Middle Creek High School in Durham, NC. Kee will miss his high school's graduation ceremony, rescheduled due to COVID-19 restrictions, as he leaves to join the United States Army in June. His mother, Andrea Kee (left) leads a celebration with him on Saturday at Duke University West Campus.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Hunter Jolicoeur, of Lumberton, NC, and Courtney Pope, of Fayetteville, NC, celebrate graduation from the University of North Carolina on Saturday. The graduation ceremony took place online, due to COVID-19 restrictions, but Jolicoeur and Pope visited the university's Old Well on Saturday to take photographs to mark the occasion. Jolicoeur graduates with a Bachelor degree in Biology. Pope graduates with a Bachelor degree in Journalism. The photographer is Serena Dalsimer.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Jasmine Kaur (center), 18, of Cary, NC, recently finished her freshman year at the University of North Carolina. Her parents, Gurvinder Kaur and Daljit Singh, along with her sister Gursiman Kaur, helped move her belongings from the dorm on Saturday, followed by a picnic lunch in the Quad.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
The University of North Carolina hosted a ceremony for its Class of 2020 graduates online Saturday due to COVID-19 restrictions. Rachel Pittman (center), of Shallotte, NC, photographs her sister, Hannah Pittman, in the university's Quad on Saturday. Hannah Pittman graduated with a Bachelors degree in Biology.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Dan Lantz (center) waits with dogs Tut and Lulu in the parking lot of Monuts in Durham, NC, on Sunday to pick up an iced latter. In preparation for a large take-out crowd on Mother's Day amidst COVID-19 restrictions, Monuts set up a new social distance waiting system in the parking lot.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Grace Knaus, left, of Apex, NC, visits with Polly Payne of Greensboro, NC, on Saturday in the parking lot of Southpoint Mall in Durham, NC. "Polly and I grew up together and often meet one another midway. Since the mall is closed, we decided to catch up in the parking lot," said Knaus.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Deborah Christopher (second from right), of Holly Springs, NC, enjoys a Mother's Day picnic Sunday at the Raleigh Rose Garden. Her children (clockwise from right: Cassidy Christopher, Charles Christopher, and Chase Christopher) picked up lunch from The Flying BIscuit Cafe and planned the picnic as a surprise. Their mother brought them to the Raleigh Rose Garden as children to have photographs made on Mother's Day.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
The Eno River State Park was packed with visitors on Sunday as it reopened to the public after a period of closure for COVID-19.
Credit Kate Medley / For WUNC
/
For WUNC
Claire Chriscoe (left), 8, of Mebane, NC, swims with her sister, Laura Chriscoe, in the Eno River on Sunday afternoon. The Eno River State Park saw many visitors on Sunday as it reopened to the public after a period of closure for COVID-19.
For the latest week of data, there were 435 hospital admissions for COVID-19, up nearly four-fold from a low point of 117 during the week of June 24. Despite the increase, hospitalizations are still well below the numbers seen both earlier this year and at the height of the pandemic.
The virus that causes COVID-19 is again circulating more widely across North Carolina, and health experts are again urging people to make plans to get updated vaccine boosters.
Government agencies, schools and universities would no longer be able to require COVID-19 vaccines under a bill that passed an N.C. House committee Tuesday.
A North Carolina appeals court has determined that a lawsuit filed by University of North Carolina students seeking reimbursement of student fees they paid before in-person fall 2020 classes were canceled due to COVID-19 can continue.
