UPDATED: Dare health officials report 11 new COVID-19 cases since Friday

CDC image coronavirus COVID-19

Dare County Health and Human Services on Wednesday reported an additional positive coronavirus test, the latest patient a non-resident between the ages of 25 and 49 years old. She is isolating in her home county.

The latest case brings the number of new positive COVID-19 cases in Dare County to 11 since Friday, and 43 since testing began in March.

Of the 11 new cases, five are residents and six are non-residents. The five residents are symptomatic and recovering in home isolation. Four of the cases are connected and it is believed one individual acquired the virus by community spread and then spread the virus to three family members/close contacts. The other positive resident is not connected to the other four cases, however this case is also believed to be acquired through community spread as the source of how the virus was contracted could not be determined.

Of the six non-residents, at least three of the asymptomatic cases are connected. They shared a common household and acquired the virus through direct contact. Two of the other two cases are not connected and it has been determined that one acquired the virus by direct contact outside of the area and the other likely acquired the virus by community spread when outside of Dare County. All six of the non-residents have returned to their county of primary residence and those cases have transferred to the respective counties.

There is no determined connection between the residents and the non-residents who recently tested positive. Contact tracing has been completed on nine of the 10 cases and all direct contacts of those nine cases have been notified. The 10th individual has been unwilling to cooperate with the contact tracers at this point. DHHS will continue to pursue measures to identify direct contacts associated with this case.

Direct contacts are those who the individual that tested positive identifies as being within 6 feet or less for 10 minutes or greater. If the individual identifies someone associated with a business or restaurant or other establishment as a direct contact but does not know the name or contact information of the individual, DHHS staff works with that place of business to identify the individual and obtain contact information. When contact tracing a non-resident, DHHS staff identifies any contacts the individual had while they were in Dare County during their contagion window. All positive cases are monitored daily throughout their isolation period. When a non-resident leaves the county their case is transferred to their county of permanent residence.

The latest tests bring the total number of cases in Dare County to 42 since testing began in March. Since visitors were allowed back to the Outer Banks on May 16, there have been 20 new positive cases. Dare County Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Woodard last week said the county had seen about 800,000 visitors in that time.

For the most up-to-date numbers, always visit www.darenc.com/covid19

.
About Kari Pugh 1073 Articles
Kari Pugh is digital director for OBXToday.com, Beach 104, 99.1 The Sound, 94.5 WCMS and News Talk 92.3 WZPR. Reach her at kpugh@jammediallc.com