Haywood County COVID-19 cases increase by 49, total now 3,903

Haywood County -- Haywood County Public Health -- FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – March 9, 2021

In the week since the last press release, Haywood County Public Health has received notice of 49 new cases of COVID-19.  As of 5 p.m. March 8, 2021, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recorded a total of 3,903 cases in Haywood County since the pandemic began. 

While COVID-19 case numbers are significantly down from the post-holiday peak, they continue to remain high enough that citizens are cautioned to remain vigilant and continue to practice preventative measures to keep the case count momentum moving in a downward trend. 

“What we don’t want to do now is relax our guard while things are going well and jeopardize the progress made in lowering cases. Continue wearing masks in public even if you are fully vaccinated. Continue social distancing and washing hands as often as possible. The arrival of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine offers a new option for citizens who wish to have a single dose shot.  We are continuing to receive Moderna from the state. As allocations increase we will work to continue our effort to provide all the vaccines within a week, at 100% given and no dose wasted.” said Interim Health Director Garron Bradish.

“If you have tested positive and you have friends or family that meet the close contact criteria, encourage them to self-quarantine and get tested 5-6 days after their exposure to you. Our end goal is to reduce community spread, so one day we can all be together again,” said Bradish. “Since we have placed a hold on monitoring close contacts, we can’t currently provide quarantine documentation for employers. Businesses need to be mindful that having quarantined employees return to work too quickly could cause a cluster of cases in the workplace. We ask that employers rely on the honor system and encourage employees who have been exposed to quarantine for the recommended time frame of 14 days from the date of exposure to help us reduce the spread during this surge of cases.”

Where to find COVID-19 vaccine information:

To register for vaccination go to: https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/vaccine
For vaccine appointment or registration questions call: 828-356-2019
Please do NOT call the health department’s main number for COVID-19 vaccination questions, utilize the hotline instead.
For general COVID-19 information visit https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/684/COVID-19-Information