By Nathan Ham
Active COVID-19 cases have remained in double digits over the last week and positive cases on Appalachian State’s campus have now dropped below 30 students according to data updated on Friday.
According to AppHealthCare, Watauga County currently has 79 active COVID-19 cases. Ashe County has more cases than Watauga now with 96 active cases. Alleghany currently has 52 active cases.
A total of 27 people across the three-county district have now died due to COVID-19 complications, 16 of those lived in Watauga County.
One concerning piece of data still exists and that is the number of hospitalizations in the area. As of Friday, 69 people in Watauga, Ashe, and Alleghany are currently in the hospital battling the virus.
On Friday afternoon, Appalachian State updated its COVID-19 data and only 28 students have active coronavirus cases to go along with two employees.
Positive cases on campus have declined steadily since the beginning of October when cases were at a record high. On October 3, there were 225 students on campus with active cases. The number dropped to as low as just 18 students on October 28 but has remained steady in the 20s since then, much lower than the peak of the fall semester.
Residents, visitors, and students are encouraged to continue wearing masks where required and social distance as well to prevent the start of another rise of positive cases as we head into the colder winter months.