Buncombe County Government, NC Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates, 13 Apr 2020

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From YouTube: Buncombe County COVID-19 Update (April 13, 2020)

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Buncombe County's COVID-19 Update from April 13, 2020. For accurate, local information and updates please visit https://www.buncombecounty.org/countycenter/news-detail.aspx?id=18543

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Good afternoon my name is Stacey would I serve as a public information officer in the Emergency Operations Center today is April 9th. It's not debate the correct date, I, don't think! Actually, sorry what 13 sorry today is April 13th 2020 and today's community update on the Cova 19 response in Bakken County includes updates from dr. Jennifer mullendore, the Buncombe County interim Public, Health Director and Fletcher to Buncombe County Public Health preparedness director. Our goal in providing these updates is to ensure that everyone in our community has access to the same information.

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The spanish-language version of this community briefing will be aired on the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Facebook page, and that can be found on Facebook at BC HHS.

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Today we will begin with dr. molander.

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Good afternoon, as of 2:00 p.m. today, mmm there have been a total of 38 lab, confirmed cases of kovat 19 and Buncombe County residents.

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34 of those individuals have recovered from their illness and been released from isolation.

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There have now been three deaths associated with kovat 19 in Buncombe County residents all were greater than 60 years of age and all had underlying health problems.

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Age, race, race, ethnicity and gender data on all 38 cases have been updated on the county's kovat 19 website.

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At this time there are no lab confirmed cases of kovat 19 and any nursing homes or congregate living facilities in Buncombe, County.

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We continue to share guidance with these facilities to ensure they are aware of current infection control practices and what to do if residents or staff members develop symptoms of kovat 19.

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As I've mentioned previously, we are well aware that the 38 lab confirmed cases are an under estimate of the true impact of Kovan 19 in the county.

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We are working on finalizing a survey tool that can give us a better idea of the number of people experiencing symptoms of Kovan 19 in Buncombe County.

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We are also in conversation with local and regional partners on increasing access to testing in the coming weeks.

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I'll now turn it over to Fletcher to.

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Good afternoon, flood stove welcome County public health, emergency preparedness director last Thursday, governor Cooper, signed executive order number 131 and want to spend some time today talking through sections one and two of that executive order which go into effect today at 5:00 p.m.

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they may have some direct impacts on your day-to-day lives. Going forward.

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Section 1 establishes several required policies for retail establishments to adopt. So, as you go to your grocery store and other essential retail later this week, you will see some changes and should anticipate that these changes may affect your errands and your schedules.

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The first policy is that all retail establishments shall be limited to only 20% of their stated fire capacity or 5 customers for every 1,000 square feet of retail space.

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This number is now defined as the new emergency operations occupancy. That means that, if a store has a fire capacity of 100 people, only 20 people will now be allowed inside at a time.

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If a retailer approaches and reaches this new emergency operations capacity, they must post staff at entrances and exits to monitor and force. This limit.

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This newly defined occupancy number shall be posted in a conspicuous place.

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City of Asheville fire marshals are visiting essential retailers today and over the next several days to assist them in determining and posting these new emergency maximum occupancy numbers.

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So what does this mean for everyone? As you go to the supermarket the pharmacy or the hardware store, you may be asked to wait outside on a one-ounce 1in basis for admittance. If there is a long line, this means that you may be outside for a while, as you are waiting outside in these lines, there should be six foot intervals marked out so that you can keep your physical distance while waiting to enter.

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You will also see these six foot intervals, marked out for checkout lanes, deli counters service desks and any other high occupancy positions.

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Section two identifies recommended policies for retail establishments. Some of these policies encourage the use of cloth face coverings for retail staff, so you may start seeing more employees in face coverings this week.

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Some encouraged designated shopping hours for seniors and at-risk groups.

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Several stores have done this already, but what this means is that if you show up at retail during these special hours- and you are not one of these targeted groups- you may be not allowed to enter so everyone is encouraged to check websites or call ahead to ensure that you aren't encroaching on these special hours.

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You may also start to see plastic shields at cash registers or shopping lanes marked for one-way traffic throughout the store.

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So the bottom line is that you may see some significant changes starting today, as you do your essential shopping.

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Everyone is still expected to limit their shopping to a central retail, so try to plan ahead and buy your groceries for the entire week or even two weeks for every visit, if that's feasible, but we ask everyone to be patient with each other and staff as we navigate these challenging times together, respect everyone, space, try to understand and share the feelings of others and be kind.

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I also want to make everyone aware that we continue to see an increase in scams and predatory, predatory tactics as bad actors play on people's fears and desires to help others. During this time of crisis, we encourage everyone to remain vigilant and be wary of unknown links and websites and to verify that any charity you are communicating with is an actual charity and to always safeguard you and protect your private data and information. Thank you.

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All kinds of people are playing a part and keeping us safe right now, including you right now, watching this program and staying informed and engaged, taking the guidance seriously and not putting yourself and others at risk.

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It's important to know that the intent of these actions is to truly keep our community safe. Please use the resources and information on the baucom county, org webpage to help guide your efforts to stay and safe and engage in our community.

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We continue to urge the community to use information found on the CDC's webpage and the state of North Carolina's Kovan 19 webpage. Also, we will be back with another community update on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. on Facebook live. Thank you.