Haywood County 11-13-20 COVID-19 cases up by 64, total now 847

Haywood County -- Haywood County Health Department FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Nov. 13, 2020

Haywood County Public Health received notice of 64 new cases of COVID-19 since the last press release on Nov. 6, 2020.  As of 5 p.m. Nov. 12, 2020, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recorded 847 cases in Haywood County.

Case patterns this week include exposures from positives in the household, work exposures, travel exposures, and exposures from funerals, parties, and other events or situations where people have gathered in large groups.

 “COVID-19 cases are going up nationwide, and we are continuing to see a steady and concerning rise in new cases in Haywood County, compared to the relative quiet of September and early October. In the first two weeks of November, we’ve had more new cases than we had during the entire month of September. Since we are continuing to see patterns that suggest that people are relaxing their COVID safety standards around extended family, coworkers, and friends, we anticipate the situation getting worse with the holidays approaching and increasingly cold weather pushing people indoors. We encourage everyone to practice the 3W’s anytime they’re going to be around people who don’t live in their household, whether indoors or out. We also ask that everyone be realistic and safe when planning holiday celebrations,” said Interim Haywood County Health Director Garron Bradish.

Guidance for safe holiday celebrations can be found on North Carolina’s COVID-19 web page: https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/guidance/NCDHHS-Interim-Guidance-for-Thanksgiving.pdf

As of 5 p.m., Nov. 12, 2020, Haywood County’s COVID-19 working number, representing individuals who are in isolation or quarantine due to exposure, is 188 people. Of these, 63 cases are in isolation after testing positive and 125 people are in quarantine, having been identified as a close contact of a known case during contact tracing. All are being monitored by the Haywood County COVID-19 contact tracing team.

COVID-19 is most commonly spread through respiratory droplets; North Carolinians should take the same measures recommended to prevent the spread of the flu and other viruses, ESPECIALLY during the phased reopening.  These measures include: 

Practice social distancing. To prevent community spread we need everyone to take social distancing seriously! 
Wear a face covering over the nose AND mouth, especially when you will be in close contact with people.
Do what you can to NOT be a close contact with anyone
Wash your hands regularly with soap and running water for 20 seconds.
Regularly sanitize frequently-touched surfaces.
Avoid touching your face.
Cover coughs and sneezes, preferably with your elbow to avoid transferring germs to your hands.
Stay home if you are sick.

Make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming from reliable sources like the CDC and NCDHHS. For more information, please visit the CDC at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus, NCDHHS at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus, and Haywood County at https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/684/Coronavirus-Covid-19-Information.  Residents are encouraged to call 828-356-2019 for questions or concerns related to COVID-19.