COVID-19 Cases Decrease for Eighth Week in a Row, per Dare County Update

Dare County released the following update for Tuesday, March 9, which provides details on recent Coronavirus cases, current and future vaccine allotments, and more COVID-19 information.

We continue to have good news to report on the status of new COVID-19 cases in Dare County. For the 8th week in a row the number of new cases has decreased. Last week, there were only 29 new positive cases. Additionally, the percent of positive tests to total tests for this past week decreased from 7.7% to 7.5%. We are hopeful that between the growing numbers of people who are getting vaccinated and everyone continuing to do their part to reduce the spread of the virus, we will get on the other side of this pandemic sooner rather than later. We know that the combination of vaccinations and following the 3Ws works. Flu cases this season have been nearly non-existent thanks to these control measures. Despite the COVID fatigue most of us are facing, please wear a face covering when in public, wait 6 feet apart and wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer.

Since our last report on 3/2, there have been 31 new COVID-19 cases. Of these 31 new cases:

• 25 (81%) are symptomatic
• 23 (74%) acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual or individuals who were positive for COVID-19.

The total COVID-19 positive case count in Dare County is 2,813 of which there are 11 active cases among residents of Dare County.

COVID-19 Vaccine

We also continue to have good news to share about COVID-19 vaccinations. Over the past 9 weeks we have administered 9,398  first doses of COVID-19 vaccines and 6,541 second doses. Over the next 2 weeks we will administer an additional 3,050 first doses and 1,204 second doses.

Our weekly allocation was increased to 500 first doses per week for the next 2 weeks. Additionally, we received approval for a special event request for 1500 first doses to be administered this week. With this increase in vaccine allotment, effective today we will begin accepting registrations for individuals in Group 4. Group 4 includes anyone 18 and older who has one or more high risk medical conditions and individuals who work directly with the public. More information on Group 4 can be found on the NC DHHS website at Deeper Dive, Group 4. https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/vaccines/find-your-spot-take-your-shot/deeper-dive-group-4#essential-workers-not-yet-vaccinated

While the state’s Group 4 definition includes individuals 16 and over who have one or more high risk medical conditions, the only vaccine currently approved for use for 16 and 17 year olds is the Pfizer vaccine. We have not been receiving the Pfizer vaccine in our  allocations from the state so we are not able to vaccinate 16 and 17 year olds. If we receive Pfizer in the future we will open registration at that time for 16 and 17 year olds.

Anyone in Groups 1 – 4, may now go to our website at www.darenc.com/covidvaccine to complete the vaccination request form. Staff will then call you to schedule an appointment, as appointments are available. Please note, if you are in Group 4, it could take a couple of weeks before staff calls you with an appointment. Please be patient. How quickly we move through the Group 4 registration list is completely dependent on our weekly vaccine allocation from the state.

If you have registered on our website for a vaccine and no longer need your appointment, please email us at covid19@darenc.com so we can remove you from our waitlist. This will help us be as efficient as possible when scheduling appointments.

Yesterday, the CDC announced updated recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals. Fully vaccinated means 2 weeks post your second dose if you received the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or 2 weeks post your single dose of the Janssen vaccine. While fully vaccinated people should continue to follow the 3Ws in public settings, the guidance states that fully vaccinated people may visit with other fully vaccinated people indoors without wearing masks or physical distancing. The complete list of recommendations for fully vaccinated people can be found on the CDC’s website – https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/fully-vaccinated-guidance.html

Key Metrics

Each week we review the 4 key metrics associated with disease investigation and surveillance. The metrics are:

• Number of Tests
• Confirmed Cases
• Positive Tests as a Percent of Total Tests
• COVID Like Illness Surveillance

This past week there were 385 COVID-19 diagnostic tests reported in Dare County. This brings the total number of tests performed since early March of last year to 34,011.  There were 29 positive cases between March 1 and March 7. The percent of positive tests to overall tests in Dare County since we started testing in March 2020 decreased slightly last week to 8.26%. The percent of positive tests to total tests for the past week also decreased slightly to 7.5%. Syndromic surveillance of individuals presenting with COVID like symptoms to the emergency department and urgent care centers, showed low levels of activity. These graphs can be found on the dare county website at www.darenc.com/covid19.

Communications and Information Sharing

Dare County DHHS has an established schedule of communication to share information regarding COVID-19. Every Tuesday, a written update and a video update which includes an overview of the previous week’s COVID-19 key metrics is issued. Additional updates will be released as needed. All released videos and written updates can be found on our website, DHHS facebook page, Dare County Twitter page, and Dare Emergency Management Twitter page. If you would like to receive these updates directly to your email, please sign up to receive our enotifications.

New positive cases are updated on the dashboard on our website and shared on the DHHS facebook page when we receive them. To find the most up-to-date information on COVID-19 cases in Dare County visit www.darenc.com/covid19. State COVID-19 data is available at https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.

Contact Us

We encourage you to stay informed by visiting www.darenc.com/covid19 or by visiting the CDC or NC DHHS websites. If you have specific needs or questions you may also call the Dare County COVID-19 call center open Monday-Friday from 8:30 to 5:00 at 252-475-5008.

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