Press release from Buncombe County:
On Tuesday, March 16, Buncombe County Public Health Director Stacie Saunders provided a COVID-19 update to the Board of Commissioners. As of March 16:
– There have been 15,970 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Buncombe County since the pandemic’s start.
– There have been 294 COVID-19-related deaths in our community.
– There are 57 new cases per 100,000 per week, down from 98 just last week.
– The percent positivity is 2.9 percent and has remained stable between 2.8 and 3.1 percent this past week.
– Hospitalizations in the region remain stable and hospital reports of COVID-like symptoms have decreased.
– Department of Health and Human Services surveillance shows very little flu-like activity this season.“Seeing our trends come back into more favorable areas is a welcomed sight, but it worries me that folks will see these improving indicators and believe that they no longer need to worry about COVID-19,” said Saunders. “That is false. Our trends are better, but COVID-19 still remains among us. This is actually the time to continue following the three Ws in order to maintain and further improve our current state.”
Vaccines and the Group 4 Waitlist
Since December 22, Buncombe County Health and Human Services (BCHHS) has administered 44,246 doses of the vaccine with help and support from Buncombe County Emergency Services and other partners. At 8 a.m. on March 17, the waitlist will open to Group 4 – people with high-risk medical conditions, people experiencing homelessness and incarcerated people. To join the waitlist, go to www.buncombeready.org or call 828-419-0095 on Wednesday after 8 a.m. For more details on who is included in Groups 1, 2, 3, and 4, visit covid19.ncdhhs.gov.As of March 15, our state has administered more than 3.1 million total doses of vaccine. This is translates to almost 20 percent of the population receiving at least partial vaccination and about 13 percent having now been fully vaccinated.
Among all Buncombe County vaccine providers, more than 83,000 total vaccines have been administered equating to 19.8% of the county population achieving at least partial vaccination and almost 12.2% being fully vaccinated.
To get more information on vaccine distribution for Group 4 in Buncombe County, text “covid” to 99411. To be removed from the waitlist, please call 828-419-0095.
Equity Efforts
Of the total Buncombe County population, about 6 percent (15,000 people) is Black/African American. Roughly 2,260 individuals are both Black/African American and 65 years and older. Through vaccine operations, BCHHS reached about 25.8% of those individuals that are African American and 65-74 years and 25.8% of those individuals who are Black/African American and 75 years and older. This has increased from about 22 percent just two weeks ago.Recent equity bump allocations in the last two weeks have helped to engage and vaccinate eligible Latinx population members. Based on total population information, roughly 10 percent of the population identifies as Latinx, which is roughly 23,147 individuals in Buncombe County. Of that total population, about 3 percent of the population has received at least one dose. Two weeks ago that figure was 1.4 percent.
Testing
Visit the Find my Testing Place website or visit starmed.care to register for COVID-19 testing in Buncombe County. Individuals who are showing symptoms or believe they have had close contact to COVID-19 should get tested.Emergency Alerts
Buncombe County residents can stay up-to-date on emergency situations by signing up for BC Alerts by texting “BCAlert” to 99411 or by clicking here. Users can select which type of notices they’d like to receive, the languages for the communications, and even TTY options. These alerts include key information about COVID vaccines and waitlists as well.If residents have previously signed up for BC Alerts, they will need to re-register in order to continue receiving them due to a change in emergency alert providers. Visit www.buncombecounty.org to learn more.
Please continue to practice the 3Ws to stop transmission of COVID-19, even if you’ve received a vaccine. It will take the vaccine and these important preventative measures to get our families back to a sense of normalcy. For more information about COVID-19, vaccine waitlists and COVID testing, go to www.buncombeready.org.
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