The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services is reporting the state’s highest one-day number of laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with 2,099 cases reported, while the number of cases in Dare County moved to 126.
Hospitalizations are also at a record high in North Carolina with 951 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, according to NCDHHS.
“We are seeing significant spread of the virus and it is very concerning,” said NCDHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen, M.D. “Today we have the highest reported day of new cases and hospitalizations – and that should be a warning to us all as we go into this holiday weekend. We don’t get a holiday from COVID-19. We all need to wear a face covering, avoid crowds and wash our hands often.”
To slow the spread of COVID-19 everyone must practice the 3 Ws – wearing a face covering over your nose and mouth, waiting six feet apart and washing your hands often.
Of today’s newly reported cases, 11 percent were positive among labs that report both negative and positive tests into the state electronic reporting system – the highest percentage North Carolina has seen since late April when the state was doing more targeted testing.
NCDHHS is responding to the pandemic on multiple fronts, including surging testing and contact tracing resources in communities and populations that have been hardest hit by COVID-19.
Anyone with symptoms or anyone who thinks they have been exposed to COVID-19, whether or not they have symptoms, should be tested for COVID-19. If you think you may need to be tested and would like to find a nearby testing place, go to Check My Symptoms and Find My Testing Place. To find short-term testing events in your community, visit the Pop-Up Testing Sites webpage.
Dare County update:
Of the 126 cases in Dare County, 71 are residents and 55 are non-residents. 32 of the resident cases are considered active. 3 are currently hospitalized out of the area and 28 are in home isolation.
16 of the non-resident cases are in isolation in Dare County. Non resident cases are those who do not have a Dare County address listed on their identification card.
This includes visitors, non-resident property owners, individuals living and working in Dare County for the summer and those who may have recently moved to the area and have not yet been able to update their identification card.
Since the last Dare County DHHS Update issued, Tuesday, June 30, 2020 there have been 29 new positive cases. Of these 29 cases, 12 are residents and 17 are non-residents. The Dare County website has already been updated to reflect all of these cases.
Of the 12 resident cases:
7 of the resident cases (3 symptomatic and 4 asymptomatic) are close contacts who acquired the virus by direct contact. These 7 cases are also connected to 14 other cases previously reported on.
2 of the cases, both symptomatic, are close contacts who acquired the virus by direct contact. These 2 cases are connected to 7 other cases previously reported on.
3 of the cases, all symptomatic, are not connected and likely acquired the virus through community spread.
Of the 17 nonresident cases:
8 are connected (1 symptomatic and 7 asymptomatic) are close contacts who acquired the virus by direct contact with an individual whose positive result was reported on 6/25/2020
6 are connected (2 symptomatic and 4 asymptomatic) are close contacts who acquired the virus by direct contact. These cases are also connected to the 21 cases referenced in the resident cases above
3 of the cases are not connected. All are symptomatic and most likely acquired the virus by a community spread outside of Dare County.
Contract tracing has been completed on 27 of the 29 cases. Two of the individuals have refused to cooperate and we are taking additional measures to locate direct contacts associated with those cases.
Testing
On June 30, 2020 Dare County DHHS partnered with Mako Medical Laboratories to host an Antibody & Diagnostic testing event for COVID19. 508 individuals were tested at this event. As of Friday, July 3, 2020 at 2pm the results below have been returned. There are still approximately 30 tests still pending. If you attended the event and would like to check for your results please text MAKO to 66349. You need to reply YES when you receive a text back from MAKO and they will then send you a link to sign in for your results.
343 antibody results returned. 8 positive results. 335 Negative
375 diagnostic results returned. 7 positive results. 4 inconclusive.
The individuals whose results were positive have been contacted and those cases were included in yesterday’s data dashboard update. The 4 individuals with inconclusive results have also been contacted and encouraged to get re-tested.
Details were announced on Tuesday regarding a second Antibody & Diagnostic testing event. The event will be held on Thursday, July 9, 2020 starting at 10:00 am at Fessenden Center located at 46830 NC-12, Buxton, NC. All antibody appointments have been filled, however there are still diagnostic appointments available. Appointments are required. This event is open to permanent residents of Dare County, ages 10 and older.
To schedule an appointment, please call 252.475.5008. The call center is closed today, July 3, 2020 in observance of the 4th of July holiday. It will reopen Monday at 8:30 a.m. Participants are required to send a photocopy of their government-issued identification card and insurance card prior to the event.
Follow the 3Ws
Please do your part to slow the spread of the virus 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
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.
This story originally appeared on OBXToday.com. Read More local stories here.