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Description
Buncombe County COVID-19 Community Update for June 1, 2020
A
Good
afternoon
and
welcome
to
the
June
first
community
update,
my
name
is
Stacie
wood
and
I
serve
as
a
public
information
officer
here
in
the
Emergency
Operations
Center.
This
community
update
is
available
in
Spanish
on
the
Buncombe
County
Health
and
Human
Services
Facebook
page,
and
that
can
be
found
on
Facebook
at
BC
HHS.
A
B
This
is
an
opportunity
to
be
reminded.
These
deaths
are
not
just
a
number.
They
represent
people,
families
and
communities
in
mourning,
people
who
have
lost
loved
ones
and
in
many
cases,
were
unable
to
be
with
them
in
their
final
moments,
long-term
care
facilities
and
their
staff
are
crucial
parts
of
our
community,
helping
to
care
for
our
siblings
friends,
parents,
grandparents
and
extended
family
members.
B
We
value
the
staff
and
administrators
of
these
facilities
and
respect
their
dedication
and
service.
We
recognized
the
dignity
and
humanity
of
those
for
whom
they
care
from
the
beginning
have
Co
vyd
in
Buncombe
County.
We
knew
that
outbreaks
and
long-term
care
facilities
would
likely
become
a
reality.
B
For
the
past
several
months,
Buncombe
County,
Public
Health
has
been
coordinating
with
county
emergency
services,
Environmental
Health
and
Social
Work
staff,
as
well
as
county
and
city
fire
marshals,
to
connect
with
and
provide
guidance
to
these
facilities
in
response
to
outbreaks
and
facilities
in
our
county.
We
have
scaled
up
our
communications
with
the
facilities,
providing
them
with
information
on
how
to
connect
with
providers
and
laboratories
to
assist
with
testing
of
all
residents
and
staff.
B
We
want
to
acknowledge
the
contributions
of
range
urgent
care
for
their
efforts
that
began
early
on
in
response
to
this
pandemic,
to
provide
Cupid
19
testing
to
the
community.
They
have
been
an
integral
partner
to
us
and
to
long-term
care
facilities
in
our
County
willing
to
step
up
to
provide
staff
and
resources
to
do
specimen
collection
in
these
facilities.
B
Their
actions
are
important
in
spreading
and
slowing
the
spread
of
kovat
19,
and
it
speaks
to
their
understanding
of
how
devastating
kovat
19
can
be
in
these
facilities
and
in
our
community
as
a
whole.
Their
actions
are
a
bright
spot
in
the
kovat
19
response.
As
of
noon.
Today,
there
have
been
342
lab,
confirmed
cases
of
kovat
19
in
Buncombe
County
residents.
B
So
when
you
meet
up
with
individuals
outside
your
immediate
household,
if
you
choose
to
do
so,
meet
up
outside,
don't
host
a
large
house
party,
don't
share
food,
and/or
drinks,
wear
a
face
covering
and
keep
your
hands
clean
and
please
stay
home
and
away
from
others.
If
you
are
sick,
the
fact
is,
the
kovat
19
is
a
global
pandemic
that
has
changed
our
world.
B
C
C
The
first
thing
that
I'd
like
to
do
and
share
with
you
today
is
an
update
from
my
prior
presentation
related
to
the
outbreak
of
kovat
19,
the
cluster
of
cases
on
our
pulmonary
care
unit
that
we
talked
about
last
week.
If
you
recall,
we
had
identified
six
staff
members
who
tested
positive
in
relation
to
that
cluster
of
cases.
We
had
done
an
additional
48
tests
that
were
negative
and
seven
additional
tests
were
pending
at
the
time.
C
I'd
also
like
to
comment
about
what
we
have
seen
as
a
recent
increase
and
the
overall
number
of
cases
both
in
the
community,
as
dr.
mullendore
mentioned
to
you
and
at
our
hospital
recently.
Typically
in
the
past,
we
have
had
less
than
6
patients
hospitalized
throughout
our
health
system,
with
kovat
19
illness.
C
We
have
yet
to
create
widespread
immunity
in
our
community
and
I
want
to
emphasize
that
nothing
has
changed
since
the
beginning
of
the
epidemic,
except
the
passage
of
time.
The
processes
and
the
ability
for
us
to
be
infected
by
this
illness
continue
at
this
point
in
time.
We
must
be
careful
and
cautious.
At
the
same
time,
I
also
want
to
emphasize
that
we
have
ample
resources
to
care
for
the
patients
at
this
point
in
time
we
are
not
overwhelmed
with
patients.
C
We
have
the
ability
to
increase
our
intensive
care
unit
capacity,
two
or
threefold
two
or
three
times
as
many
as
we
have
now
and
we're
not
at
capacity
as
it
stands,
and
so
I
want
to
also
emphasize
that
we
have
ample
protective
equipment
and
ample
ventilators
on
hand
to
handle
the
cases
as
they
exist
at
this
point
in
time.
We
monitor
this
daily
watching
closely
to
see
if
this
situation
changes,
but
it's
a
critical
and
important
reminder
that,
as
we
see
these
cases
rising
in
the
community
that
were
attentive
as
dr.
C
mullendore,
so
articulately
pointed
out
to
be
good
stewards
for
the
entire
community
and
wear
a
mask
at
all
times.
Wait
six
feet
apart
from
each
other
and
wash
our
hands
as
much
as
we
possibly
can.
When
in
social
settings
and
I'd
like
to
emphasize
that,
despite
the
ability
to
move
around
more
freely,
we
should
really
only
do
so
when
it's
absolutely
necessary
and
we
should
limit
the
interactions
that
we
have
with
our
fellow
men
and
women
as
much
as
we
possibly
can.
So
as
to
minimize
the
spread
of
this
disease.
D
Good
afternoon
my
name
is
Fletch
Tove
public
health,
emergency
preparedness
director
today,
as
Flags
across
the
state
fly
at
half-staff,
we
come
together
to
mourn
29
residents
of
Buncombe
County,
who
lost
their
battles
with
Cove
in
nineteen.
It's
important
to
reflect
that
these
29
deaths
are
not
just
numbers
on
a
graph.
D
D
Second,
these
restrictions
and
mitigation
measures
afforded
us
time
to
be
better
prepared
to
confront
this
novel
and
unprecedented
public
health
threat,
as
we
start
to
reopen
and
the
weeks
since
our
initial
stay
home
stay
safe
order.
We
have
established
isolation
and
Quarantine
facilities
and
strategies
for
our
community.
D
D
We
are
able
to
reopen
in
a
controlled
manner
now,
because
we
were
so
diligent
in
our
early
efforts.
We
have
recently
seen
a
jump
in
our
cases
and
our
deaths.
This
is
unfortunate,
but
it
is
and
will
remain
an
undeniable
consequence
of
our
efforts
to
slowly
reopen.
Our
goal
is
to
do
everything
we
can
to
minimize
new
cases
and
deaths,
as
we
continue
to
reopen
the
community,
and
everyone
can
help
with
that
effort.
D
Everyone
can
and
should
practice
the
three
WS
wear
face
covering
when
you're
in
public
wait
six
feet
away
from
other
people
and
wash
or
sanitize
your
hands.
Often
every
time
you
practice,
one
of
the
three
double
use
you
may
be
potentially
blocking
a
line
of
transmission,
preventing
others
from
getting
sick,
preventing
others
from
dying.
D
A
This
has
been
the
31st
vaca-oom
county
and
community
update
in
response
to
Kovan
19.
A
lot
has
changed
since
the
first
update
as
our
community
reopens,
reliable
and
timely
information
will
continue
to
be
essential
to
the
safety
of
everyone
in
our
community.
We
will
provide
the
next
community
update
on
Thursday
June
4th
at
2:30
p.m.
thank
you
for
your
time
and
efforts
to
stay
informed.