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Murphy – Last week, two people who tested positive for COVID-19 passed away, including a woman in her 50s.
Cherokee County Health Director David Badger could not provide any other details on the woman, including whether or not she had any other medical conditions that put her at higher risk for severe illness. She was the youngest person to die after testing positive, the sixth death in the county.
“It’s always a constant reminder that the virus can impact anyone,” Badger said.
The seventh death in the county was individual in their early 80s who passed away Friday. Of the county’s deaths of people who tested positive, four were in their 80s and one was in her 90s.
Cases continued to increase during the outbreaks at both nursing homes, although some have cases have resolved or are no longer in the facilities. As of Friday, Murphy Rehabilitation & Nursing had zero residents and four staff actively positive with the virus, while Valley View Care & Rehabilitation in Andrews had 21 residents and seven staff members actively positive.
Outbreaks started at both nursing homes last month. There have been a total of 42 cases of residents and staff combined and one death of a resident in the nursing homes from Aug. 16-Sept. 4, with 15 new cases last week. Over the weekend, more test results came back positive for both residents and staff at both nursing homes.
Badger said the health department has been working closely with both nursing homes and making sure they have the resources they need. He knows they are doing their best to protect the at risk population in the facilities and said it’s a good sign that residents are recovering.
“I hope and pray it continues,” Badger said.
Nursing homes are considered to have an outbreak until the facility has had no new cases for 28 days.
Department of Health & Human Services Secretary Mandy Cohen allowed outdoor visitation to begin at nursing homes on Sept.4, as long as the home does not have an outbreak. Kelly Roberts, executive director at Murphy Rehab, they are looking forward to scheduling outdoor visitations once they are clear.
“We have already designed a plan and are just waiting to implement it,” Roberts said. “We are so excited for the residents and the families to finally get a little face time even if it is six feet apart and behind masks.”
Last week, Gov. Roy Cooper eased some coronavirus restrictions, bringing the state in Phase 2.5. As of Friday, gatherings were increased to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors, and playgrounds, museums and exercise facilities could open.
As a result, Mayor Rick Ramsey allowed Murphy playgrounds and playground areas to reopen.
As of Monday afternoon, the county had 104 active cases. Since March, the county has had 504 total cases, including 19 people from other states who tested positive while in the county, and four men and two women who passed away after testing positive.
Using data collected from 495 cases, the state reported Monday that 12 percent of the county’s cases were those ages 0-17, 9 percent were ages 18-24, 29 percent were ages 25-49, 25 percent were ages 50-64, 14 percent were ages 65-74 and 12 percent were ages 75 or older.
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 & Prevention, symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, chills, muscle aches, headache, sore throat, congestion or runny nose, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, diarrhea and new loss of taste or smell. Symptoms range from mild to severe and may appear 2-14 days after exposure.
The CDC said the virus spreads easilys. The state is asking anyone who is experiencing symptoms or thinks they were exposed to the virus to get tested.
As of Monday, North Carolina had 177,919 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 and 2,897 deaths related to the virus since the beginning of March. More than 156,000 of those cases are presumed to be recovered.
More than 2.4 million state residents have been tested for the virus. In the last week, 5-7 percent of the tests returned positive daily.