Dare County reports 30 new COVID-19 cases since Tuesday, per recent update

Dare County released the following COVID-19 update for Tuesday, October 20, 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 667, of which there are 39 active cases among residents of Dare County. Of the 667 cases, 379 are residents and 288 are non-residents.  Three residents remain hospitalized from complications associated with COVID-19.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued the morning of Tuesday, October 20, 2020, there have been 30 new positive cases. Of these 30 cases, 24 are residents and 6 are non-residents. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

Of the 24 new resident cases since Tuesday, October 20th:

• 2 of the cases are family members. Both are symptomatic. It is unclear how the first family member acquired the virus.
• 2 of the cases are family members. Both are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 10/9.
• 2 of the cases are family members. Both are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose posit test result was reported on 10/19.
• 3 of the cases are connected. 2 are symptomatic and 1 is asymptomatic. These individuals acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive tet result was reported on 10/20.
• 2 of the cases are connected. Both are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose posit test result was reported on 10/16.
• 5 of the cases are not connected. All are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with individuals who tested positive for the virus outside of Dare County.
• 7 of the cases are not connected. All are symptomatic. It is unclear how these individuals acquired the virus.
• 1 of the cases was a late report from the state from when a resident tested positive outside of Dare County. The individual has since recovered.

All the 6 new non-resident cases since Tuesday, October 20th:

• 2 of the cases are family members. Both are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with individuals who tested positive for the virus outside of Dare County.
• 1 individual is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual who tested positive for the virus outside of Dare County.
• 3 of the cases are not connected. All are symptomatic. It is unclear how these individuals acquired the virus.

Contract tracing has been completed on 27 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 working with the other 3 individuals to identify and notify their direct contacts.

Controlling the Spread

We have seen a rise in new positive cases in Dare County over the past 10 days. The increase in cases is predominantly linked to direct contact among family members and close contacts. However, we are starting to also see an increase in cases of unknown origin, which indicates community spread.

COVID-19 remains a very contagious virus. We cannot stress enough the importance of everyone doing their part to reduce the spread of this virus by using the proven tools available – the 3 Ws. Please be responsible, protect yourself and others 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

Testing

We strongly encourage anyone who is experiencing symptoms to be tested as well as anyone who may have come into contact with someone who has COVID-19. Testing is widely available in Dare County. Please visit www.darenc.com/covidtesting for details on testing locations.

In addition to the testing locations provided on our website, we are partnering with Mako Medical Laboratories to host another testing on Thursday, November 5, 2020 at the Nags Head Event site located at 6800 S. Croatan Hwy in Nags Head. This testing event will offer drive through diagnostic testing for ages 5 and older. The diagnostic test indicates whether an individual has a current COVID-19 infection.

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

If you have questions about testing or locations please visit www.darenc.com/covidtesting or call the COVID-19 call center, open Monday – Friday from 8:30 am – 5 pm at 252-475-5008.

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.