DCDHHS ‘very pleased’ with recent COVID numbers – The Outer Banks Voice

By Outer Banks Voice on August 18, 2020

As of the afternoon of Aug. 18, Dare County had reported no new cases of COVID-19 on that date. In addition, the update from the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services (DCDHHS), also released on Aug. 18, contained additional hopeful news about the trajectory of the virus here something DCDHHS Director Sheila Davis attributes to a lot of people doing the right things.

For the 4th week in a row we have seen a decrease in the number of new positive cases in Dare County, the DCDHHS update read. The week of July 20 there were 55 new cases, the week of July 27 there 42 new cases, the week of August 3rd there were 21 new cases and this past week there were 18 new cases.

Given those numbers, its not surprising that another key metric the percentage of positive tests out of all those administered has also been on the decline for the last month.

The countys Aug. 18 update reported that, This past week, there were 1,101COVID-19 diagnostic tests performed in Dare County 1,093 were performed by local healthcare providers and 108 were performed at the community testing event held on August 11. This brings the total number of tests performed since early March to 9,341.

There were 18 positive cases between August 10 and August 16, the update indicated. The percent of positive tests to overall tests in Dare County since we started testing in early March decreased again this week for the 4th week in a row, to 4.24%. The percent positive to total tests for the past week alone was 1.63%.

In an email to the Voice, Davies wrote that, I believe we are seeing the lower cases because the majority of people are doing the right things physical distancing, wearing masks and good hand hygiene, following the Exec Order by limiting numbers at mass gatherings. I also believe there are many businesses/establishments that are taking extra precautions to help reduce the spread i.e. hotels doing grab-back breakfast pick up instead of dine-in continental breakfast, hotel housekeepers following protocols to not clean a room when a guest is in the room, limiting occupancy and ensuring social/physical distancing, consistently enforcing mask requirements, etc.

Even so, local health officials are not ready to pop the champagne cork. While noting their satisfaction in seeing these numbers, Davies also emphasized the need to remain vigilant.

I believe the only way we will see these lower numbers continue is if we follow the 3Ws and stay vigilant, Davies added in her email to the Voice. It would be foolish to think our lower numbers are because the virus is not still prevalent in Dare County. Numbers could quickly [increase] if we dont do the right things.

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DCDHHS 'very pleased' with recent COVID numbers - The Outer Banks Voice