Dare County in ‘red zone’ of daily new cases

November 17, 2020 | Local News | From The: OBX Today

Dare County’s per capita daily new case count (30.5 per 100,000) on Nov. 16, 2020, well above Norfolk (9.5), Richmond (17.5), Washington, D.C. (18.7) and Raleigh (18.7). [image courtesy Harvard University]

Harvard University released data Monday showing Dare County in the “red zone” for daily new cases of COVID-19.

University researchers are mapping coronavirus risk by state and county across the country. When the website was first launched in July, four of North Carolina’s 100 counties were in the red zone. Now there are 42 in the zone, defined as a county with 25 or more cases per 100,000 people, the News & Observer reported.

According to the data, Dare County’s per capita daily new case count (30.5 per 100,000) on Nov. 16, 2020 was well above Norfolk (9.5), Richmond (17.5), Washington, D.C. (18.7) and Raleigh (18.7).

The Dare County Department of Health and Human Services reported 39 new COVID-19 cases and one coronavirus-related death from Saturday through Monday. Health Director Sheila Davies last week issued a plea for help bringing down Dare County’s rising cases.

Dare County’s Board of Education on Friday decided to return to virtual-only instruction after 17 COVID-19 cases put nearly 450 students and staff in quarantine.