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Description
Community update from Buncombe County Government on COVID-19 for March 23, 2020. Up-to-date, accurate information concerning local new concerning COVID-19 can be found at buncombeready.org.
A
Good
afternoon
today
is
March
23rd.
My
name
is
Stacy.
Wood
I
am
the
Health
and
Human
Services
public
information
officer.
Today's
community
update
includes
updates
from
dr.
Jennifer
mullendore,
the
Buncombe
County
Health
and
Human
Services
health
director
interim
health
director
and
medical
director,
Fletcher
tove
Buncombe,
County
Health
and
Human
Services
preparedness
coordinator
director
and
Admiral
Pender
Buncombe
County
County
Manager.
B
Since
that
press
release,
we
have
become
aware
of
five
additional
residents
of
our
County
with
kovat
19,
bringing
the
total
at
this
time
to
eight
cases
of
kovat
19
in
Buncombe
County
residents,
as
additional
lab
results
from
tests
performed
by
local
providers
and
Buncombe
County
Health
and
Human
Services
returned.
We
expect
the
case
count
to
continue
to
increase
Buncombe
County
communicable
disease
staff
have
contacted
each
individual
with
kovat
19,
informing
them
of
their
test
results
and
obtaining
information
on
their
close
contacts
and
whereabouts
during
the
time
period
of
interest.
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
We
must
each
take
personal
protective
measures
to
avoid
exposure,
the
guidance
that
we
have
been
sharing
with
the
public
and
the
actions
that
Buncombe
County
has
taken
over
the
past.
Several
weeks
have
been
focused
on
preventing
and
minimizing
the
spread
of
this
infection
in
our
community.
I
have
said
it
before,
and
I
will
say
it
again
now.
It
is
critically
important
that
everyone
follow
this
guidance
to
protect
themselves,
their
family,
their
friends,
their
co-workers,
their
customers
and
our
entire
community.
I
cannot
emphasize
how
important
these
measures
are.
B
We
must
all
do
our
part,
the
actions
we
each
take
matter
number
one.
If
you
are
sick,
please
stay
home
away
from
other
people
by
going
to
work
or
out
into
the
community.
When
you
are
sick,
you
are
exposing
everyone
around
you
to
your
germs,
including
two
possible
kovat
19,
please
stay
home
if
you
are
over
the
age
of
65
or
if
you
have
a
chronic
health
condition
like
heart
or
lung
disease
diabetes
or
a
weakened
immune
system.
B
B
Number
six
cough
and
sneeze
into
your
elbow
or
a
tissue
and
then
throw
away
that
tissue
and
wash
your
hands
number
seven
clean
and
disinfect
objects
that
are
frequently
touched.
Don't
forget
your
cell
phone
or
doorknobs,
as
we
are
now
seeing
community
spread
of
kovat
19
in
our
state
and
locally
North
Carolina
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services
guidance
to
health
care
providers
on
testing
for
kovat
19
is
changing.
B
B
B
If
you
have
general
concerns
about
kovat
19,
please
visit
Buncombe,
reddy
org
and
if
you
are
a
Buncombe
County
resident
and
you
don't
have
a
health
care
provider
and
are
concerned
about
symptoms
of
kovat
19,
you
may
call
a
Buncombe
County
communicable
disease
nurse
at
two
five:
zero:
five:
three:
zero
zero.
Thank
you.
C
Good
afternoon
I'm
flood
stove
public
health
emergency
preparedness
director
welcome
County
Public
Health
is
continuing
to
work
to
ensure
that
our
response
to
Kovan
19
remains
proactive.
We
have
implemented
mitigation
measures
to
slow
the
spread
of
kovat
19,
but
that
also
factored
in
the
eventualities
of
the
community
spread
in
our
area.
C
C
We
spoke
about
our
county
motto:
people
to
match
our
mountains,
how
we
are
strong
and
resilient,
how
we
help
each
other
in
times
of
need.
Over
these
last
weeks,
we
have
seen
an
incredible
support
from
individuals,
grassroots
organizations
and
local
businesses
who
are
partnering
with
our
Emergency
Operations
Center,
to
provide
essential
resources
and
complete
essential
tasks.
C
Thank
members
of
our
community
who
have
been
assisting
in
our
response
efforts.
We
also
want
to
thank
all
the
community
members
who
have
been
complying
with
our
guidance
by
limiting
mass
gatherings
staying
home
when
they
are
sick,
staying
six
feet
away
from
each
other
in
washing
hands
with
frequency.
C
D
Hello,
Buncombe
County
I'm,
your
county
manager,
Avril
Pender.
Many
of
you
are
watching
this
from
your
home,
empty
offices
and
other
spaces
different
from
what
you're
accustomed
to
make
no
mistake:
we
are
in
uncharted
waters,
fear
and
uncertainty
are
abundant
and
tangible
in
ways
we
haven't
seen
for
generations,
while
fear
is
real,
it
is
not
absolute
fear
will
not
have
the
last
word.
We
are
stronger
than
fear
to
those
unnecessarily
sowing
seeds
of
anxiety.
I.
D
Our
faith,
our
compassion
and
our
resolve
will
dictate
what
happens
in
Buncombe,
County
and
across
the
nation
and
as
we
band
together
as
a
community,
our
actions
will
drive
fear
back
into
hiding
and
serving
as
an
example
of
light
and
resiliency.
As
for
the
uncertainty,
we
are
responding
to
multiple
unknown
variables.
D
We
have
taken
guidance
from
experts
in
the
medical
and
scientific
communities
and
treated
this
as
a
public
health
crisis
from
the
onset,
our
public
health
and
emergency
services
personnel
have
been
planning
for
weeks
with
the
culmination
of
establishing
our
Emergency
Operations
Center
last
week
that
ELC
is
staffed
with
experienced
and
dedicated
members
in
our
community.
They
have
as
much
at
stake
as
you
and
I
do
and
I
can
assure
you
they're
acting
accordingly.
In
the
coming
days,
weeks
and
months,
we
will
continue
to
meet
uncertainty
head-on,
with
a
non-event
commitment
to
public
service.
D
That
brings
me
to
you.
Our
anomaly
of
life
has
changed.
That
is
not
lost
on
me.
These
are
unprecedented
times
and
they
call
for
equally
unprecedented
measures.
I
know
this
is
a
big
ask,
but
it's
not
from
me.
It's
from
our
community
most
vulnerable,
our
neighbors,
our
friends
and
the
future
generation.
D
D
I
want
to
thank
our
staff
first
responders:
public
health
workers,
humidity
partners,
nonprofit
neighboring
municipalities,
our
school
system
and
our
business
community
and
everyone
else
that
is
working
diligently
to
coordinate
a
community
driven.
A
response
and
I
want
to
thank
you
for
your
understanding
for
the
gravity
of
this
situation
and
asked
that
you
act
accordingly.
Thank
you
be
well,
and
god
bless.
A
To
echo
everybody
here
spec
and
today
we
continue
to
respond
to
the
most
urgent
needs
in
our
community,
while
at
the
same
time
trying
to
think
ahead.
Several
steps
ahead,
always
forward-thinking
for
accurate
information
on
Kovan
19
in
Buncombe
County.
We
want
the
community
to
go
to
Buncombe,
County,
org
or
Buncombe
ready
org
for
up-to-date
Ovid
19
information.
This
is
the
most
accurate
and
reliable
source
of
information
related
to
covin,
19
related
to
county
operations
that
you
can
all
access
on
your
internet.