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

Dare County released the following COVID-19 update for Friday, September 11, 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 482, of which there are 15 active cases among residents of Dare County. Of the 82 cases, 259 are residents and 223 are non-residents.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued, Tuesday, September 8, 2020, there have been 5 new positive cases. Of these 5 cases, 4 are residents and 1 is a non-resident. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

Of the 4 new resident cases since Tuesday, September 8th:

• 3 of the cases are not connected. All are symptomatic and are college students who acquired the virus by direct contact with individuals who tested positive outside of Dare County.
• 1 individual is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual who tested positive outside of Dare County.
• 1 individual is symptomatic. It is unclear how this individual acquired the virus.

The 1 new non-resident case since Tuesday, September 8th is an individual who is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual who tested positive outside of Dare County.

Contract tracing has been completed on 4 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. We are currently in the process of working with one individual to identify and notify their direct contacts.

Controlling the Spread

While we have been fortunate in Dare County over the past few weeks to have relatively low numbers of new cases. Unfortunately, this has not been the same for many of our neighboring counties. We cannot stress enough how important it is to use the proven tools available to help reduce the spread of COVID 19. 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. With the start of a new school year  and remote learning amid a global pandemic, many adults and children are feeling anxious right now. Too much stress or anxiety can weaken your immune system over time and impact your body’s ability to fight off infection. Try these tips to reduce anxiety:

• Limit exposure to news and social media. Try limiting your exposure to twice a day at scheduled times. Anxiety can build from media exposure.
• Focus on what you can control. Anxiety can come from trying to control things that are outside of our control. You can control how often you wash your hands, when you wear your mask, and other precautions.
• Get plenty of rest. Getting quality sleep for an appropriate amount of time at night can help reduce anxiety.
• Try deep breathing exercises. Breathing exercises can help manage anxiety on a physical, physiological and mental level. The University of Michigan has some great resources to help you get started.
• Get outside and get exercise. Exercising and spending time outdoors can be great ways to relieve stress and anxiety.

If you are still feeling anxious and think you may benefit from additional support, check out the Breaking Through Task Forces’ COVID-19 Resource guide.

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.