Dare County health officials received word this morning of another positive coronavirus case, this patient a man between the ages of 25 and 49 who lives in the county. He is recovering in home isolation.
Since May 16 when Dare County reopened to visitors following pandemic closures, there have been 11 new COVID-19 cases.
Some of the trends health official have seen in recent cases include:
- Some acquired the virus by direct contact with an asymptomatic positive case.
- The spread of the virus occurred quickly among family members and members within the same household.
- There is an increase in the number of direct contacts associated with the recent positive cases.
This reinforces the importance of the 3 Ws. Please continue to help reduce the spread of COVID-19 in our community by following the 3Ws – 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
Testing
This week NC DHHS released expanded testing guidance and recommends that clinicians conduct or arrange for diagnostic COVID-19 testing for:
Anyone with symptoms suggestive of COVID-19.
Close contacts of known positive cases, regardless of symptoms.
Populations with higher risk of exposure or a higher risk of severe disease if they become infected, if they believe they may have been exposed to COVID-19, whether or not they have symptoms.
People who have attended protests, rallies, or other mass gatherings could have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or could have exposed others. Testing should be considered for people who attended such events, particularly if they were in crowds or other situations where they couldn’t practice effective social distancing.
Please contact your healthcare provider or local urgent care center if you believe you need diagnostic testing.
Dare County DHHS is continuing to work on plans for the next community testing clinic for diagnostic and antibody testing. Since antibody testing requires a blood draw (not a finger stick) this event will need to be held indoors. More details will be shared next week regarding the event.
Don’t Delay Medical Care
We recognize some individuals may be hesitant or nervous to keep routine medical appointments or to seek medical care when ill. Unfortunately, we are seeing a growing trend that people are presenting to area urgent care centers and the emergency room in very sick conditions, not related to COVID-19, and we believe this is because they are delaying seeking care due to fears and concerns about the COVID-19 virus. Please do not delay in seeking care when you are sick and do not cancel routine medical appointments out of fear of contracting COVID-19. Healthcare providers are taking great measures to ensure patient safety during all office visits. Additionally, many services are now available through the use of telemedicine. For a list of providers in the area providing services via telemedicine, please visit www.darenc.com/telehealth.
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, on Thursdays a Spanish Video Update 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.
Contact Us
We encourage you to stay informed by visiting www.darenc.com/covid19 or by visiting the CDC or NC DHHS websites. If you have specific needs or questions you may also call the Dare County COVID-19 call center open Monday-Friday from 8:30 to 5:00 at 252-475-5008.