Dare County provides details on its 12 active COVID-19 cases in Friday’s update

Dare County released the following COVID-19 update for Friday, August 14, which details the county’s most recent active cases, testing efforts, and additional community information.

The number of positive COVID-19 tests in Dare County is 390, 12 of which are considered active in Dare County. Of the 390 cases, 211 are residents and 179 are non-residents. Three individuals, 1 resident and 2 non-residents, are currently hospitalized outside of Dare County.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued, Tuesday August 11, 2020, there have been 6 new positive cases. Of these 6 cases, 1 is a resident and 5 are non-residents. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

The one new resident case since Tuesday, August 11th is symptomatic. It is unclear how this individual acquired the virus, which indicates community spread.

Of the 5 new non-resident cases since Tuesday, August 4th:

• 2 of the cases are symptomatic family members. One of the family members acquired the virus outside of Dare County and spread it to the other family member.
• 1 of the cases is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with a family member who tested positive outside of Dare County.
• 1 of the cases is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with a resident whose positive test result was reported 8/10
• 1 of the cases is asymptomatic. It is unclear how this individual acquired the virus, which indicates community spread.

Contract tracing has been completed on the 5 of the 6 new cases 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. We are currently in the process of working with one individual to identify and notify their direct contacts.

Controlling the Spread

Since August 2, 2020 there have only been 9 new resident cases of COVID-19. This is very encouraging. We know the proven tools to help up reduce the spread of COVID 19 are maintaining physical distancing of at least 6 ft. from others, wearing face coverings and using good hand hygiene. Please help us keep the number of new cases low by following the 3Ws:

• 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

Staying Well

Practicing general wellness during these difficult times can help improve an individual’s likelihood of preventing or recovering from illness due to COVID-19. Maintaining medical appointments is essential for health and wellness, especially for individuals who may have a chronic health condition. As we know, individuals with chronic health conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and cancer, are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. These individuals should work with their healthcare providers to maintain their routine check-ups. Individuals who are uncomfortable with going into their health care provider’s office, should call ahead and determine what safety measures they can take while at their appointment or if telehealth is an option for their care. For more information on chronic disease and COVID-19, please visit the CDC website.

Testing

On Tuesday, August 11th  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:

• 108 diagnostic tests conducted – 0 positive, 0 inconclusive, 0 invalid, 108 negative
• 86 antibody tests conducted – 5 positive, 81 negative

Communications and Information Sharing

Dare County DHHS has an established schedule of communication to share information regarding COVID-19. On Tuesdays, a written update and a video update which includes an overview of the previous week’s COVID-19 key metrics is issued, and on Fridays a written update is issued. 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.