Dare County COVID-19 case count at 150 with 40 active cases, per Tuesday update

Dare County released the following COVID-19 update for Tuesday, July 7, which details the county’s current 40 active cases, recent testing efforts, and additional community information.

The number of positive COVID-19 tests in Dare County is 150, 40 of which are considered active and in home isolation. Of the 150 cases, 82 are residents and 68 are non-residents.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued on Friday, July 3, there have been 24 new positive cases. Of these 24 cases, 11 are residents and 13 are non-residents. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

The majority of cases continue to experience mild to moderate symptoms, however, there are a few cases which have experienced severe illness. Currently, one resident and one non-resident are both hospitalized out of the area in critical condition. In one of these cases, the individual acquired the virus by younger family members.

Of the 11 resident cases:

• 2 of the cases are family members, both symptomatic. One family member acquired the virus by community spread and then infected the other family member
• 4 cases are close contacts, all symptomatic, who acquired with virus by direct contact with cases whose results were reported on 7/2 and 7/3
• 4 cases are not connected, both symptomatic, who acquired the virus by community spread
• 1 case is asymptomatic and acquired the virus by community spread

Of the 13 nonresident cases:

• 6 cases are close contacts, 4 symptomatic and 2 asymptomatic, who acquired the virus by direct contact with cases whose results were reported on 7/2 and 7/3. These cases are connected with the 4 resident cases above.
• 1 case is asymptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose result was reported on 7/1
• 5 other cases are not connected, all symptomatic, who acquired the virus by community spread
• 1 case is asymptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with a family member

Contract tracing has been completed and direct contacts provided by these individuals have been identified, notified, and directed to quarantine for 14 days from the last date of exposure with the positive case.

Testing

On June 30, 2020 Dare County DHHS partnered with Mako Medical Laboratories to host an Antibody & Diagnostic testing event for COVID19. The following is a summary of the results:

• 379 diagnostic tests conducted – 7 positive tests, 4 inconclusive, 3 invalid, 368 negative
• 344 antibody tests conducted – 8 positive tests, 336 negative

This week we are partnering with Mako Medical Laboratories to host a community testing event. The event will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2020 starting at 10:00 am at Fessenden Center located at 46830 NC-12, Buxton, NC. All antibody appointments have been filled, however there are still diagnostic appointments available.

Another testing clinic will be held on Tuesday, July 14, 2020 starting at 1:00 p.m. at Dare County Parks & Recreation located at 602 Mustian St, Kill Devil Hills, NC. Individuals can register for an appointment for the diagnostic test, the antibody test, or both.

Appointments are required to attend these events. Participation is open to permanent residents of Dare County, ages 10 and older. To schedule an appointment for either testing event, please call 252.475.5008. The call center is open Monday – Friday 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Key Metrics

Dare County DHHS monitors and evaluates 4 key metrics associates 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 had the highest number of COVID-19 diagnostic tests performed in Dare County at 1008 tests (629 performed by local healthcare providers and 379 performed at the community testing clinic on June 2nd). This brings the total number of tests performed since early March to 3,577.  We had 43 positive cases between June 29 and July 5. The percent of positive tests to overall tests in Dare County since we started testing in early March increased slightly this week to 4.3%. The percent positive to total test for the past week alone was 3.8%. The syndromic surveillance of individuals who presented to the emergency department with COVID-19 like symptoms increased towards the beginning of the week. We also continue to see an increase in the number of sick individuals presenting to the area urgent care centers. These graphs can be found on the dare county website at www.darenc.com/covid19

Follow the 3Ws

Please do your part to slow the spread of the virus by following the 3Ws –  wear, wait and wash.

• Wear a cloth face covering if you will be with other people.
• Wait 6 feet apart. Avoid close contact.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds or use hand sanitizer

While there is a mandate in North Carolina where individuals must wear a face covering when social distancing (being less than 6 ft away) cannot be maintained, there are individuals who have legitimate medical reasons and are not able to wear a face covering. We all need to be kind, show compassion and understanding.