Dare County provides details on its active COVID-19 cases, and recent fatality, 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 347, 40 of which are considered active. Of the 347 cases, 197 are residents and 150 are non-residents.

The majority of cases continue to experience mild to moderate symptoms, however there are cases which have experienced severe illness. Sadly, we were notified yesterday that one of the residents, aged late 70s, who tested positive for the virus on July 17th and was immediately hospitalized, died at a hospital out of the area from complications associated with COVID-19.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued, Tuesday July 28, 2020, there have been 12 new positive cases. Of these 12 cases, 10 are residents and 2 are non-residents. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

Of the 10 new resident cases since Tuesday, July 28th:

• 3 of the cases, 1 symptomatic and 2 asymptomatic, acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive result was reported on 7/25
• 2 of the cases, both symptomatic, acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 7/24
• 1 of the cases is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with a family member whose positive result was reported on 7/26
• 1 of the cases is asymptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive result was reported on 7/26
• 3 of the cases are not connected, all symptomatic. It is unclear how these individuals acquired the virus, which indicates community spread.

Of the 2 new non-resident cases since Tuesday, July 28th:

• 1 is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with a positive family member outside of Dare County
• 1 is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with a family member whose positive test result was reported on 7/23

Contract tracing has been completed on the 10 of the 12 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 2 other recent positive cases to identify and notify their direct contacts.

Hurricane Preparedness and COVID-19

Now is the time to call ahead and make sure your evacuation plans are still viable in the event that an evacuation order is issued. This is especially important right now because shelter options may be limited due to COVID-19 and social distancing requirements.

To access updated information from Dare County, visit www.darenc.com/isaias.

For preparedness information, visit www.readync.org.

Monitor local weather reports at www.weather.gov/mhx, sign up to receive alerts directly from Emergency Management at www.darenc.com/alerts and follow @DareCountyEM on Twitter.

Reducing the Spread

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. Sleep plays a vital role in boosting our immune system. The average adult should get 7 or more hours of sleep per night. You can work on improving your sleep habits by going to bed and waking up around the same time everyday.  Make sure your bedroom is quiet, dark, relaxing, and at a comfortable temperature.  Remove electronic devices such as TVs, computers, and smart phones from the bedroom. Avoid large meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bedtime.  For more information on sleep recommendations, please visit https://www.cdc.gov/sleep/features/getting-enough-sleep.html

Testing

On Tuesday, July 28th  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:

•  251 diagnostic tests conducted – 8 positive, 3 inconclusive, 0 invalid, 240 negative
• 194 antibody tests conducted – 8 positive, 186 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.