17 new cases in county last week
As one local nursing home received good news over the holiday weekend, another continued to wait as negative COVID-19 test results trickled in.
On June 24, the Cherokee County Health Department said a Murphy Rehabilitation & Nursing in Peachtree resident tested positive for COVID-19.
However, by July 3, all results of the other residents and staff returned negative for the virus.
“That didn’t surprise me,” said Kelly Roberts, executive director of the nursing home.
“We have a really tight infection control program.”
She said the resident never experienced symptoms of the virus and has received one follow-up negative test result. They were awaiting the results of a second follow-up test to confirm the health status of the resident, who remains isolated until then.
Meanwhile, on June 30, Valley View Care & Rehabilitation in Andrews had a resident who tested positive during a routine screening for a procedure. As a result, all residents and staff were tested.
There was no known source of infection for the Valley View resident. As of Monday, the individual was not in the facility, and there were no known cases in the building.
Health Director David Badger said officials try to take care of coronavirus situations quickly at long-term care facilities to help prevent spread among vulnerable residents.
“So far, we’ve been fortunate,” Badger said. “A lot of the credit goes to those facilities.”
The state defines an outbreak in a congregate living facility as two or more confirmed cases. Across the state, there were 4,554 cases of COVID-19 in nursing homes and 127 outbreaks as of Monday.
Deaths of nursing home residents account for nearly 48 percent of the state’s total deaths of persons who tested positive for the virus. Badger said he doesn’t want to see an outbreak, and the staff members of the two facilities have done a lot of work following guidelines to keep everyone healthy.
This was the second case for Valley View, with the first being in April. All other residents and staff tested negative for the virus then. Murphy Rehabilitation was experiencing its first case, and the person was tested through routine procedures at the facility. The administrators of the facilities believed both God and the community protected them.
From Monday through Sunday last week, the health department reported 17 new confirmed cases of COVID-19. Badger said that while there were a lot of things at play, one thing stood out – a lot of people were traveling for work or vacation, and as a result putting themselves more at risk for exposure to the virus.
“Staying at home is safer than going places,” Badger said. “That’s the reality of what we’re seeing.”
The health department confirmed the following cases since June 30:
- While on an out-of-state trip, a resident came in contact with two others who ended up testing positive. The resident learned on June 30 they also tested positive and was isolated at home.
- Three individuals visiting the county for essential business tested positive for the virus on June 30. Two decided to return to their homes to isolate, while the other is isolated in Cherokee County. Two were from Florida, while one was from Minnesota. The individuals were all in contact with other previously reported cases. Like other positive cases of non-residents tested in Cherokee County, these cases will not be recorded as North Carolina cases, but the county will continue to track the cases as they tested positive in the county. Badger said those who returned home would be monitored by their local health departments, and that the Cherokee County Health Department would follow up with them and drop them as active cases once 10 days passed.
- One additional case was announced Wednesday afternoon. This individual had no known contact with anyone else who tested positive.
- Three more residents learned they tested positive on Saturday - one had potential exposure at work, another had no known contact with another person who tested positive, and the last started experiencing symptoms although they had no known contact with another person who tested positive.
- On Sunday, another resident learned they tested positive. This resident was in contact with someone from another county who tested positive, and was tested when they sought medical care after experiencing symptoms.
- On Monday, one resident who had workplace exposure tested positive, while another resident who had potential workplace exposure tested positive. The health department was working with the worksites to determine the validity of the reported exposures.
As of Monday afternoon, the county has 17 active cases, all within its borders. Since March, the county has had 57 total cases, including non-residents who tested positive while in the county.
Anyone who experiences symptoms should contact their primary care provider, the health department or urgent care. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, fatigue and new loss of taste or smell. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and may appear 2-14 days after exposure.
As of Monday, North Carolina had 74,529 positive cases of COVID-19 and 1,398 deaths related to the virus since the beginning of March. More than 55,000 of those cases are presumed to be recovered. More than 1 million North Carolinians have been tested for the virus. In the last week, 8-11 percent of the tests continued to return positive daily.
Local residents are reminded to continue practicing measures to prevent spreading the virus, like using good hygiene habits, staying home if sick and social distancing. The CDC believes the virus is spread primarily through close contact with another person, and recommends people maintain social distancing of about 6 feet, wash hands often with soap and water, disinfect surfaces, and wear a cloth face covering when social distancing is difficult. The state requires face coverings in public when social distancing is not possible.