Murphy – The Cherokee County Health Department is receiving $130,094 from the N.C. Department of Health & Human Services to support staffing, infection controls, testing and tracing, information technology infrastructure, data sharing and visualization.
Health Director David Badger said the funding will help lessen the burden on local taxpayers to support staffing and maintain supplies due to COVID-19.
“It certainly will be beneficial,” he said.
Badger added that county commissioners, the county manager and county finance director have been supportive in meeting the department’s needs during the pandemic.
“I’m very appreciative of all their work,” he said.
The funding is the county’s share of $35 million the state is allocating to local health departments. The state received the one-time, non-recurring funding as part of an agreement with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention.
About 200 people in the county were tested for COVID-19 last week and three tests returned positive for the virus, including one Tuesday morning. The county’s total number of cases is 35 since March.
These three residents
are the only known active cases in the county. Badger said there is no link between the residents, and there’s no known link to any previously announced cases. To his knowledge, neither of the two residents who tests returned Thursday attended the protest downtown at the beginning of the month. Both of the residents reported Thursday were isolated in their homes and doing well Monday. The resident reported Tuesday was also isolated in their home.
Badger does not think the two new cases should change anyone’s concern for the virus as people do more things out of their home.
“I think the concern goes back to people being aware of their symptoms,” he said.
If people stay aware, get tested, are isolated and quarantined, it will help prevent the spread to others, Badger said. Anyone who experiences symptoms should contact their primary care provider, the health department or urgent care.
According to the CDC, 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. Symptoms range from mild to severe.
As of Monday, North Carolina had 53,605 positive cases of COVID-19 and 1,223 deaths related to the coronavirus since the beginning of March. More than 36,900 of those cases are presumed to be recovered. More than 750,000 North Carolinians have been tested for the virus.
Of the 35 total cases in the county, 31 people have recovered from the illness as of Monday and one has died after testing positive. Two cases the county is reporting are residents of another state.
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.