April 20, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: COVID-19 Burke County Media Briefing
Burke County’s Response to COVID-19
• Burke County is currently at 76 positive cases. The cases consist of both traveling and community spread. All positive cases are isolated and Public Health staff continues to investigate the cases and will be locating those close contacts to help contain the spread of the infection.
• Numbers noted on the state website may fluctuate during the public health investigations when staff find out that some positive tests are truly not Burke County residents. Numbers listed above are correct numbers for Burke County.
• Public information line has been opened Monday through Friday, 8am – 5pm for those with questions can call 828-764-9388.
As our numbers continue to rise, it is extremely important that all residents stay at home and only go out if it is absolutely necessary and only one person per household go out to pick up essentials. And while out in public, always practice social distancing by staying 6 feet or more away from others and DO NOT congregate with other people inside or outside any buildings. The rise in infections will begin to decrease if EVERYONE will practice the preventive measures.
It is difficult for the state and local departments to track the number of those that have recovered from COVID-19 infection. Public health staff must perform contact tracing for all of those that test positive for this infection and has spent a tremendous amount of man hours to perform this state requirement plus continue testing those that meet the criteria. For those who test positive for this infection, most people will be deemed in recovery if they are at least 3 days (72 hours) have passed since resolution of fever without the use of fever reducing medications and improvement in respiratory symptoms (cough, shortness of breath) AND at least 7 days have passed since symptoms first appeared.
Since the data for this situation is continually changing, North Carolina residents can always check the NC Department of Health and Human Services website for updated information. The website is located at https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/covid19.
Update on www.burkenc.org/COVID-19Webpage:
• Charts with percentages of positives cases by gender and age breakdowns
• These charts are updated by 5pm daily
If you have any further questions or need additional information, contact the Burke County Public Information Line at 828-764-9388, Monday – Friday from 8am – 5pm. After hours, weekends and holidays, the NC Public Information Line number is provided as a resource to contact. The operator will answer your questions or direct you to the correct person to answer your questions. Or you can also visit the Burke County COVID-19 webpage at www.burkenc.org/COVID-19. If you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 and inform the dispatcher that you have symptoms listed for COVID-19.
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