Dare County provides details on its 81 active COVID-19 cases in Friday’s update

Dare County released the following COVID-19 update for Friday, July 24, 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 301, 81 of which are considered active. Of the 301 cases, 176 are residents and 125 are non-residents.

The majority of cases continue to experience mild to moderate symptoms, however there are cases which have experienced severe illness. Currently, two residents remain hospitalized.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued, Tuesday July 21, 2020 there have been 24 new positive cases. Of these 24 cases, 14 are residents and 10 are non-residents. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

Of the 14 new resident cases since Tuesday, July 21st: 

• 4 of the cases are symptomatic, direct contacts with individuals whose positive results were reported on 7/21
• 2 of the cases, one symptomatic and one asymptomatic, acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 7/20
• 1 of the cases is symptomatic and acquired the virus from a family member whose positive result was reported on 7/18
• 2 of the cases are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 7/19
• 5 of the cases are not connected, 3 symptomatic and 2 asymptomatic. It is unclear how these individuals acquired the virus, which indicates community spread.

Of the 10 new non-resident cases since Tuesday, July 21st:

• 1 of the cases, symptomatic, is a household contact who acquired the virus by direct contact to a positive case whose test result was reported outside of Dare County
• 2 of the cases, both symptomatic, are household contacts who acquired the virus by direct contact with a known positive case not in Dare County.
• 3 of the cases are not connected, 2 symptomatic and 1 asymptomatic, all who acquired the virus by direct contact with individuals outside of Dare County.
• 4 of the cases are not connected, 3 symptomatic and 1 asymptomatic, all who most likely acquired the virus by community spread outside of Dare County.

Contract tracing has been completed on the 20 of the 24 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 the 4 other recent positive cases to identify their direct contacts.

Reducing the Spread

We continue to see growing cases of COVID-19 in Dare County. The majority of cases are occurring because of direct contact in social circles or households. We are seeing friends spreading the virus to friends as well as family members spreading it to family members. There is also an indication of community spread since some individuals are unaware of how they acquired the virus. This number of individuals contracting  the virus through community spread, however, is lower compared to those who acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual who had previously tested positive.

Please follow the  3Ws to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The 3Ws are proven tools to help protect you, your family, and our community. 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

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. Nutrition plays a big factor in an individual’s overall health and abilities to fight off infection and sickness. We recommend eating a diet that supports a healthy immune system. A diet high in fruits and vegetables can help boost your immune system. Citrus fruits, red bell peppers, broccoli, spinach, papaya and kiwi are fruits and vegetables that can help keep your immune system strong. For more information on nutrition and eating well, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/index.html

Testing

We will be partnering with Mako Medical Laboratories to host another testing clinic on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 starting at 1:00 p.m. at Dare County Center located at 950 Marshall Collins Drive, Manteo NC. Individuals can register for an appointment for the diagnostic test, the antibody test, or both. Registration is required.

To schedule an appointment, please call 252.475.5008. The call center is open Monday – Friday from 8:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Participants are required to send a photocopy of their government-issued identification card and insurance card prior to the event.

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.