Dare County reports 78 new COVID-19 cases this week, per Friday update

November 13, 2020 | Local News

Dare County released the following COVID-19 update for Friday, November 13, 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 865, of which there are 84 active cases among residents of Dare County. Of the 865 cases, 532 are residents and 333 are non-residents. Five residents remain hospitalized from complications associated with COVID-19.

Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued Tuesday, November 10, 2020, there have been 55 new positive cases. Of these 55 cases, 47 are residents and 8 are non-residents. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.

Of the 47 new resident cases since Tuesday, November 10th:

4 of the cases are connected. All are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/9
3 of the cases are connected. Both are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/4
1 individual is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/10.
3 of the cases are not connected. Two are symptomatic and 1 is asymptomatic. These individuals acquired the virus by direct contact with different individuals whose positive test result was reported on 11/10.
5 of the cases are connected. All are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/8
1 individual is asymptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/9.
1 individual is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/8
1 individual is symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/5.
1 individual is asymptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/7.
4 of the cases are not connected. Both are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with individuals whose positive test result was reported on 11/11.
14 of the cases are not connected. 12 are symptomatic and 2 are asymptomatic. It is unclear how these individuals acquired the virus.
9 of the cases are not connected. All are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with individuals who tested positive outside of Dare County.

Of the 8 new non-resident cases since Tuesday, November 10th:

2 of the cases are connected. Both are symptomatic and acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive test result was reported on 11/9.
3 of the cases are not connected. 2 are symptomatic and 1 is asymptomatic. It is unclear how these individuals acquired the virus.
3 of the cases are not connected. 2 are symptomatic and 1 is asymptomatic. All acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual who tested positive outside of Dare County.

Contact tracing has been completed on 46 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 9 individuals to identify and notify their direct contacts.

Controlling the Spread

COVID-19 remains a very contagious virus. We have seen an increase in new positive cases in Dare County over the past 2 weeks. Just this week we are already at 78 new cases of COVID 19. Below is some additional information regarding the most recent cases this week:

The increase in cases is not due to an increase in testing. Last week, Dare County has its highest percent of positive tests to total test percentage since the pandemic started at 8.8%,
86% of the 55 new cases are Dare County residents
75% of recent cases acquired the virus by direct contact with a positive individual
88% of recent cases are symptomatic

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 .

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.