Sustained community spread of COVID-19 in Buncombe County

Press release from the Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services:

As of Monday, August 3, 2020, there have been 1,710 lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Buncombe County residents. That is an increase of 255 cases from the same time last week. Over the last week, an average of 41 new cases of COVID-19 were reported to Buncombe County Public Health daily, down from 43 new cases a day the prior week.

There have been 46 COVID-19-related deaths in Buncombe County residents, including 38 residents of long-term care facilities.

Five percent of the 4,410 tests performed on Buncombe County residents the week of 7/19 – 7/25/2020 came back positive. This showed sustained spread of COVID in our communities throughout much of July. This data point for the week of 7/26 – 8/1/2020 is pending at this time.

As cases increased significantly in July, so did contact tracing in Buncombe County. In the month of June, Buncombe County Public Health identified approximately 500 close contacts to lab-confirmed cases. In July, that number more than doubled to approximately 1,100 close contacts.

Dr. Mullendore, Buncombe County Medical Director, says, “It is very hard to see the number of cases continue to rise. While I know we are not unique in Buncombe County, I wish more members of the public would take these simple, but powerful steps to reduce the spread of COVID — Wear a face covering and avoid close contact with others outside your immediate household. It is by all of us taking these actions together that we can get this infection under control.

Please monitor yourself for symptoms of COVID-19 and, if you have any, do not go to work or around other people. Symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle or body pain, headache, sore throat, new loss of taste or smell, fatigue, nasal congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, and diarrhea. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to someone with COVID-19.

If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or have had contact with someone with COVID-19, you should stay away from others immediately. Call your healthcare provider or local urgent care, or use the Buncombe Ready COVID-19 Self Checker, found at buncombready.org, to assess your symptoms and get connected to testing. You can also visit Find My Testing Place for a testing site near you. If you have been tested, it is important that follow the public health guidance available in the NCDHHS’s “Steps for People After COVID-19 Testing” document (also available in Spanish).

Details about the Buncombe County community testing sites will be announced on Thursday, August 6, 2020, at the Community Update, held via Facebook Live @buncombegov. More information on resources in Buncombe County can be found at www.buncombeready.org.

It is important to know that testing is widely available in our county through primary care providers, community health centers, urgent cares, hospital systems, and pharmacies.

Public health and healthcare providers want everyone to focus on preventing COVID-19 from spreading in the first place. You can do this by wearing a face covering, staying at home as much as possible and not participating in activities that put you and your family at risk.

COVID is not the only infection we should be worried about. Now is the time to make sure children are up-to-date on their immunizations. During this pandemic, immunization rates have dropped across the country and we need to do all we can to turn that around. Please talk to your medical provider or call the Buncombe County Immunization Clinic at (828) 250-5096.