Dare County provides details on its active COVID-19 cases, and two recent hospitalizations, in Friday’s update

Dare County released the following COVID-19 update for Friday, September 25, which details the county’s most recent active cases, testing efforts, and additional community information.

Dare County COVID-19 Case Update

The number of positive COVID-19 tests in Dare County is 529, of which there are 11 active cases among residents of Dare County. Of the 529 cases, 286 are residents and 243 are non-residents.  Two residents are currently hospitalized due to complications associated with COVID-19.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued, Tuesday, September 22, 2020, there have been 9 new positive cases. Of these 9 cases, 8 are residents and 1 is a non-resident. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

Of the 8 new resident cases since Tuesday, September 22nd:

• 1 individual is asymptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 9/18.
• 1 individual is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 9/21.
• 1 individual is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual who tested positive for the virus outside of Dare County.
• 5 of the cases are not connected. 3 are symptomatic and 2 are asymptomatic. It is unclear how these individuals acquired the virus.

The 1  new non-resident case since Tuesday, September 22nd is symptomatic. It is unclear how this individual acquired the virus.

Contract tracing has been completed on all  of the 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.

Controlling the Spread

We have been fortunate in Dare County over the past few weeks to have relatively low numbers of new cases and we appreciate the public’s support of using the proven tools available to help reduce the spread of COVID 19. Please continue to help 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. We are strongly encouraging eligible individuals to get their flu vaccine this year in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A combination of both viruses, or one after the other, may be extremely detrimental for your health, respiratory health and overall ability to recover.  People who can avoid the flu will also help reduce the burden on our health care system which is already stressed by COVID-19. Additionally, the more individuals who get their flu vaccines, the better we are able to protect our vulnerable populations. For more information on DCDHHS Flu Clinic dates and locations visit www.darenc.com/flu.

Communications and Information Sharing

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