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FEMA Approves North Carolina Shelter Request

(AP Photo/Steven Senne)

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved North Carolina's request for shelters that follow social distancing guidelines.

Governor Roy Cooper announced Wednesday that FEMA will help provide shelters for North Carolinians without stable housing who may need to quarantine or are at high-risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

The governor said in a news release that the state will work with local partners to provide more than 16,000 individual housing units in hotels, motels, dormitories, and other facilities. FEMA has agreed to pay 75 percent of the costs associated with the sheltering program, and the state will cover the remaining 25 percent.

The shelters will be available to people without stable housing who test positive for COVID-19 and need to be isolated but don't require hospitalization. Private rooms will also be earmarked for residents who have been exposed to the virus, and those in high-risk groups who require social distancing as a precautionary measure.

For the most up-to-date information on coronavirus in North Carolina, visit our Live Updates blog here. WFDD wants to hear your stories — connect with us and let us know what you're experiencing.

Neal Charnoff joined 88.5 WFDD as Morning Edition host in 2014. Raised in the Catskill region of upstate New York, he graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1983. Armed with a liberal arts degree, Neal was fully equipped to be a waiter. So he prolonged his arrested development bouncing around New York and L.A. until discovering that people enjoyed listening to his voice on the radio. After a few years doing overnight shifts at a local rock station, Neal spent most of his career at Vermont Public Radio. He began as host of a nightly jazz program, where he was proud to interview many of his idols, including Dave Brubeck and Sonny Rollins. Neal graduated to the news department, where he was the local host for NPR's All Things Considered for 14 years. In addition to news interviews and features, he originated and produced the Weekly Conversation On The Arts, as well as VPR Backstage, which profiled theater productions around the state. He contributed several stories to NPR, including coverage of a devastating ice storm. Neal now sees the value of that liberal arts degree, and approaches life with the knowledge that all subjects and all art forms are connected to each other. Neal and his wife Judy are enjoying exploring North Carolina and points south. They would both be happy to never experience a Vermont winter again.

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