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Avery County Up to 42 Coronavirus Cases

By Tim Gardner

Avery County Public Health received notice on July 9 of seven new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19). This brings the number of cases recorded in Avery County to 42. The individuals are in isolation at home.

To protect individual privacy, no further information will be released.

The National Center for Disease Control (CDC) defines close contact as being within 6 feet of a person with COVID-19 infection for 15 minutes or longer and without protection. Based on the information provided by the individuals in close contact, county health officials have said they will assess risks of exposure, determine which if any additional measures are needed such as temperature and symptom checks, quarantine, and/or testing.

At press-time, eight cases of COVID-19 in Avery County are categorized as recovered. The other 34 remain active, according to Toe River Health District officials.

Avery, the last county in the State of North Carolina to have a confirmed COVID-19 case, also had eight confirmed cases of the potentially deadly virus on July 8.

Besides Avery County, the TRHD also includes Yancey and Mitchell, NC counties. Yancey County currently has 62 positive cases (44 have recovered and 18 are active). Mitchell County had four new positive cases on July 9 to increase its total to 62 positive cases. 35 of those have recovered, 32 remain active and 1 death has occurred from COVID-19 in Mitchell County.

Residents are encouraged to call 828-356-2019 for questions or concerns related to COVID-19.