By Tim Gardner
Avery County was the last of North Carolina’s 100 counties to have a case of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). But in recent weeks the county has had a surge in the number of those afflicted with the disease.
The Toe River Health District (TRHD) and Avery County Health Department confirmed on July 1 that the county had another case of COVID-19. Avery currently has 18 positive cases with 12 still remaining active. Six of those who tested positive in Avery have recovered from the virus.
The TRHD governs health departments in Avery, Mitchell and Yancey, NC Counties and also announced on July 1 that Mitchell County currently has 40 positive cases (21 recovered; 19 active) and Yancey County currently has 44 positive cases (35 recovered; 9 active).
Mitchell County had three more confirmed COVID-19 cases on July 1.
Avery Health Department and TRHD staff members have completed the investigation of the latest COVID-19 case in Avery County and they have contacted close contacts to the individual afflicted with the virus to try to contain the spread of it. To protect individual privacy and for legal purposes, no additional information about the case will be released.
Medical professionals urge basic and simple practices like social distancing, wearing a mask when in public, staying home if you are sick and regular hand washing help to slow the spread of the virus.
Coronavirus symptoms include fever, cough, shortness of breath, loss of taste, loss of smell, diarrhea, nausea, headache, sore throat and body aches. If you experience these symptoms, please call your healthcare provider and follow their advice. If you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 and inform the emergency dispatcher that you have symptoms of COVID-19.
It is important to make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming directly from reliable sources like the CDC and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). For more information, visit the CDC online at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and/or the NCDHHS at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus.