Albemarle Regional Health Services to stop weekly COVID cases, vaccine data reports

ARHS report of active cases in their service territory, released Jan. 28, 2022.

Albemarle Regional Health Services will no longer publish weekly updates on new cases and vaccine totals for their eight county service area that covers Currituck, Camden, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Chowan, Gates, Bertie and Hertford counties.

“During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been the goal of ARHS to provide accurate and timely data to keep our communities up to date,” said ARHS Health Director R. Battle Betts, Jr.

“As time moves on, it is apparent to us that the data we are collecting is no longer exact due to the abundance of home tests that are not reported and the expansion of the state vaccine reports to include federal sites and other vaccine providers across the state,” Betts said.

“Therefore, our surveillance report no longer meets our standards and we are committed to only providing data of the highest quality,” Betts said.

ARHS will continue to report facility outbreaks and coronavirus-related deaths in the weekly update format, along with other pertinent updates, according to Friday’s news release.

Data covering those counties will still be available from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

“When trying to determine levels of activity throughout our community there are numerous sources we can look to including state and federal data and while not one source alone will give you the full picture, they do provide insight into what is going on and the precautionary steps we can take, much like data sources that examine influenza activity and other illness,” said Betts.

“In order to remain safe and healthy you need to stay up to date on your vaccine, wear a mask, wash your hands frequently, stay home when you are sick, get tested and isolate if you are COVID positive,” Betts said. “These preventive measures are key components to continuing to navigate this pandemic along with any respiratory or viral illness we may face.”

According to Friday’s report, there had been a total of 28,893 cases and 388 deaths in the ARHS territory since March 2020, including 4,416 cases and 31 deaths in Currituck.

There were 18 outbreaks reported at congregate living facilities in the ARHS service area, with 27 resident and staff cases at Currituck House in Moyock and 30 at Currituck Health and Rehabilitation in Barco.