Press release from Buncombe County:
On Tuesday, March 23, Buncombe County Public Health Director Stacie Saunders provided a COVID-19 update to the Board of Commissioners. As of March 23:
– There have been 16,194 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Buncombe County since the pandemic’s start.
– There were no additional COVID-19-related deaths in the past week.
– There are 30 new cases per day, and the number of new cases per 100,000 per week is stable in the 80s.
– For three weeks, the percent positivity has plateaued, hovering between 2.8 percent and 3.4 percent. Today’s percent positivity is 3.4%.
– Hospitalizations in the region remain stable.
– Testing is critical, and anyone experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms or believes they may have been exposed to COVID-19 should seek out testing at the North Carolina Find My Testing Place website.“The virus continues to spread and with its variants circulating, we are not at the finish line yet,” said Saunders. “Until more of the population is vaccinated, testing remains a vital tool to help identify new cases quickly and reduce transmission through isolation and contact tracing.”
Vaccines
· Vaccines administered by BCHHS since Dec. 22, 2020: 49,830
· Total doses of vaccine administered in Buncombe County: 94,345
· Total doses administered in N.C. as of yesterday: 3.6 million
· Percentage of the Buncombe County population fully vaccinated: 13.5%
· Buncombe County baseline weekly vaccine allocation: 3,510
· Additional vaccine doses received for equity purposes: 300
· Additional vaccine doses received via transfer: 400 from hospital partner for outreach and vaccination of detention center clients and individuals experiencing homelessnessBCHHS is currently administering vaccines to healthcare workers, people 65 and older, frontline essential employees, people with high-risk medical conditions, people experiencing homelessness, and incarcerated individuals. To sign up for the vaccine, go to www.buncombeready.org or call 828-419-0095. BCHHS is currently calling individuals between 62,000 and 65,000 on the waitlist, with about 15,000 active individuals remaining on the waitlist. To be removed from the waitlist, please call 828-419-0095.
To get more information on vaccine distribution in Buncombe County, text “covid” to 99411.
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.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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