CCHD COVID-19 Update #110 (July 21, 2020)…

LENOIR, NC (July 21, 2020) — Here is the Caldwell County Health Department COVID-19 Update for Tuesday, July 21, 2020.

Laboratory-Confirmed Cases			Recovered Patients			Active Patients
816			395			412
Deaths		Hospitalized	Active Outbreaks			Active Cluster
9		20	5			1
Total Tested			Total Negative		% Patients Tested Positive
11,696			9,840		6.98%
CASES BY ZIP CODE
28645	28655	28630	28638	28601	28667		28611
448	1	225	113	15	3		11
CASES BY AGE
0-17		18-24	25-49	50-64	65-74		75+
108		87	305	177	82		57
CASES BY RACE
White		Black	Hispanic	Asian
67.30%		6.43%	26.09%	0.19%

Updated 07-21-2020

Today, Caldwell County confirmed an outbreak at the Shaire Center. The facility has had two employees test positive for COVID-19, which meets the state’s standard for an outbreak.

Shaire has tested all of their residents and staff and is working closely with the Caldwell County Health Department to stop the spread of the virus in their facilities.

“Unfortunately, we learned today that a second member of our staff has tested positive for the virus. This staff member is in self-quarantine and will continue to stay at home in quarantine until medically cleared to return to work,” said Jason Haire, administrator at Shaire Center. “We are pleased that no residents have tested positive.”

Thirty-three COVID-19 cases have been reported today — 19 in the 28645 Zip code, two in the 28630, 12 in 28638, and one in the 28601. Twelve patients are under the age of 17; five patients are between 18 and 24; 10 are between 25 and 49; four are between 50 and 64; and two are between 65 and 74.

Twenty of Caldwell County’s COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized across the state. Nine patients are at Caldwell UNC Health Care. The remaining patients are at Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge Morganton (Grace), Duke University Hospital, Frye Regional Medical Center, UNC Medical Center, and Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has provided updated guidance on when patients can be released from isolation. According to the guidance:

• Isolation can generally be discontinued 10 days after symptom onset and resolution of fever for at least 24 hours, without the use of fever-reducing medications, and with improvement of other symptoms (removes 72 hour criteria).
• Requiring negative tests (test-based strategy) is no longer recommended to discontinue isolation except in very specific circumstances in consultation with infectious diseases experts.
• For persons previously diagnosed with symptomatic COVID-19 who remain asymptomatic after recovery, retesting is not recommended within three months after the date of symptom onset for the initial COVID-19 infection, and quarantine is not recommended in the event of close contact with an infected person.

For information about Coronavirus, visit here or call the Caldwell County Health Department Health Information Line at 828-426-8456 or the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 828-426-8605. For statistical information, visit here.

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Hospitalized – The number of hospitalized patients is not cumulative. It is the number of patients from Caldwell County currently hospitalized, regardless of what county they are hospitalized in.

“Also, if you follow the state numbers, you will notice we are reporting fewer cases than the state shows for our county. We report cases once the health care provider who conducted the test shares pertinent patient information and confirms test results. Until we receive that information, we do not add cases to our log.

Remember, we only report cases for patients who live in Caldwell County. Cases are counted by patient, not the number of times the patient tests positive.” Caldwell County Health Department

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