After 14 days,
3 test positive
Murphy – The Cherokee County Health Department announced Sunday and Monday that three local residents have tested positive for COVID-19, and one is in a hospital.
On Friday, the health department updated its dashboard showing there were no active known cases in the county. On Saturday, there had not been any new cases in two weeks.
“The reality is we just have to keep being vigilant and being aware,” Health Director David Badger said.
Two individuals were tested because they were feeling ill, and neither had
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any known contact with someone infected with the coronavirus. While one person was hospitalized as of Sunday afternoon, the other was isolated in their home.
On Monday, the health department announced another resident is isolating their home after testing positive for COVID-19. The person came in contact with people infected with the virus while at work, and the individual was tested after becoming ill.
Badger said screening needs to continue to help prevent the spread of the virus. Although the county has not reached its goal of testing 300 people per week – 126 were tested in the last week – he thinks it is doing well overall. The biggest challenge is getting people who want to be tested.
“The more you test, the more you know,” he said. “I’m very appreciative of what providers are doing in their arena.”
To be tested, individuals must get an order from their primary care physician, as they would for a blood test or surgery. They will then be provided with information on how to get tested – some local medical offices have tests available on site, as does the health department and Erlanger Western Carolina Hospital.
Testing is not necessarily free, but Badger said those with insurance should not have to pay for the test. The health department does not have antibody testing available.
He said good screening measures will help allow people to get back to normal lifestyles. In comparison, the flu is common, with a season starting in October and tapering off in late spring.
“Probably, at some point and time, coronavirus will be just as commonplace,” Badger said.
Since March, the health department has reported 29 positive tests of COVID-19, including two people who were residents of another state. One person died after testing positive.
Anyone who becomes sick with a respiratory-type illness is asked to contact their primary care provider or the health department to determine if they need to be tested for COVID-19.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, symptoms range from mild to severe and may appear two to 14 days after exposure. Symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat and loss of taste or smell.
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 of at least 6 feet apart. In public places where social distancing is difficult, the CDC recommends wearing a cloth face covering. Close contact is defined as being within 6 feet of another person for 10 minutes or more.
As of Monday, North Carolina had 19,023 positive cases of COVID-19 and 661 deaths related to the virus since the beginning of March. More than 9,000 of those cases are presumed to be recovered. The state does not take recoveries away from its total cases as it does deaths.