42 COVID-19 Cases Reported

Forty-two cases were reported today — 14 in the 28645 Zip code, 20 in 28630, four in 28638, one in 28667, one in 28611, and two in 28601. Three patients are under the age of 17; four are between 18 and 24; 13 are between 25 and 49; 13 patients are between 50 and 64; three are between 65 and 74; and six are over the age of 75.

NC Governor Roy Cooper announced a county alert system to highlight the state’s viral hotspots. The COVID-19 County Alert System uses metrics informed by the White House Coronavirus Task Force and North Carolina’s key metrics to categorize counties into three tiers:

• Yellow: Significant Community Spread
• Orange: Substantial Community Spread
• Red: Critical Community Spread

Caldwell County falls into the orange tier and will remain at this level for at least four weeks, according to state officials.

“It’s important everyone continue to take precautions to slow the spread of COVID.” said Caldwell County Public Health Director Anna Martin. “We know by working together that we can make an impact here in our county.”

NC DHHS recommends people in orange and red tier counties take the following actions:

• Limit mixing between households and minimize the number of people in your social circle
• Avoid settings where people congregate, like outdoor bars and night clubs (in NC, indoor bars remain closed and indoor night clubs must remain below indoor mass gathering limits)
• If patronizing restaurants, consider ordering take out from restaurants and/or eating outdoors socially distanced
• Individuals who are high-risk for developing serious illness should consider staying at home as much as possible
• Reduce your public interactions to mainly essential activities like going to work or school, caring for family members, buying food, getting health care, or picking up medications

The department also suggests businesses and community organizations do the following:

• Implement teleworking if feasible and cancel any non-essential work travel
• Manufacturing, construction, food processing, farms — request a consultation from NCDHHS on reducing workplace transmission (919-707-5900)
• Institutes of Higher Education — adopt strict restrictions on student gatherings and events on-campus and off-campus and close indoor dining and move to grab and go
• Community and religious organizations — avoid any in-person indoor meetings, events, worship services, or other gatherings above the indoor mass gathering limit

For information about Coronavirus, visit www.caldwellcountync.org/coronavirus-covid-19 or call the Emergency Operations Center at 828-426-8605. For statistical information, visit www.caldwellcountync.org/coronavirus-covid-19/dashboard.