Buncombe County Government, NC Coronavirus (COVID-19) Updates, 6 Apr 2020

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From YouTube: Buncombe County COVID-19 Update (April 6, 2020)

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Buncombe County's COVID-19 Update from April 6, 2020. For more information about local efforts on COVID-19 you can visit https://www.buncombecounty.org/countycenter/news-detail.aspx?id=18543

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Good afternoon today is April 6 2020, and we are here again for a community update on the Cova 19 response in Buncombe County. My name is Stacey wood I'm, a public information officer here in the Emergency Operations Center. Our goal in providing these live updates is to ensure that everyone in our community has access to the same information during this public health response to a global pandemic.

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This is an opportunity for us to connect at the local level and to deliver information and updates from the EOC that helps us to become even more connected and empowered.

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The spanish-language version of this community briefing will be aired on the BC HHS Facebook page and that Facebook handle is at BC HHS.

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Today's community updates include the following speakers: dr. Jennifer, mullendore Buncombe, County interim Public, Health Director, Fletcher, tove, Buncombe, County, Public, Health preparedness director, just as Calvin Hill, chief district court judge and Dan Flynn division. Chief with the city of Asheville, Fire Department.

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We will begin with dr. ballinger.

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Good afternoon.

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At this time there have been a total of 33 lab, confirmed cases of Kovan 19 in Buncombe County residents.

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28 of these individuals have recovered from their illness and been released from isolation.

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There remains one death associated with Kovan 19 in a Buncombe County resident.

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The county is developing a report of basic demographic information on these cases that we hope to share with the community in the near future.

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We know that this number of 33 cases is an underestimate of the true number of cases of kovat 19 in our community.

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This under estimate results from a lack of availability of approved test for Kovan 19 in the US that has only recently started to resolve and from guidance from federal and state public health agencies. That limit who should be tested.

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While various lab companies continue to get governmental approval to sell their products, there are still limits on supplies, as well as money to purchase those supplies.

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Many local healthcare providers have implemented or are implementing, testing and their practices.

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However, the current guidance from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services remains that people with mild symptoms of kovat 19 do not need to be tested unless they live or work in a high-risk setting like a nursing home or a doctor's office or as a first responder.

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If the guidance expands to include more people who should be tested and if testing becomes more available, it is possible. The testing sites could reappear in our community. These sites could be run by local health care providers and potentially by Buncombe County.

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Currently, however, testing by Buncombe County staff is focused on individuals with symptoms of kovat 19 who live or work in high-risk settings, as we know that one case in a nursing, home or a homeless, shelter can spread quickly through a very vulnerable population, resulting in significant illness and death across the state and locally.

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We know that there are already outbreaks of kovat 19 and several of these types of facilities in Buncombe County. We continue to communicate with our local facilities to try to prevent kovat 19 and to quickly respond to reports of any residents or staff with symptoms.

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We also continue to collaborate with local providers who serve individuals experiencing homelessness.

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We have provided guidance to the local shelters on how to screen residents for kovat 19 and what to do if they suspect someone of having the illness.

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At this time it remains important that each of us understands that kovat 19 is here in Buncombe County. We all need to continue to take basic steps to stay safe and prevent further spread of this infection.

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The number one thing we can all do is keep ourselves and the people we live with from having close physical contact with others who we don't live with.

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Keeping that six feet of physical distance from others outside our household is critically important to slowing the spread of the virus.

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Continue to reduce any non-essential trips out into the community.

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Wash your hands or clean them with alcohol-based hand sanitizer frequently and avoid touching your face.

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If you have fever or cough, you may have Kovan 19. Remember that most people have a mild illness and are able to recover at home, keep track of how you feel contact your health care provider.

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If you are concerned, if you had developed difficulty, breathing chest prep, chest pressure or chest, tightness call 911.

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Now know that people can have Co vat19, but if not appear or feel ill, and that people who end up becoming sick with with the illness can spread the virus to others before they show symptoms.

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The CDC is now advising the use of simple cloth face coverings to slow the spread of the virus and help people who may have the virus and not know it from transmitting their infection to others.

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Cloth face coverings made from household items were made at home from common materials at low cost can be used as an additional voluntary public health measure.

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However, it is important for for everyone to understand that a face covering is only one way of stopping the spread of this illness.

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We ask you to continue your efforts to slow the spread of hope in nineteen in our community.

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We truly believe that it will make a difference for everyone in Buncombe County, and it truly takes every one of us in Buncombe, County working together to address this crisis.

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Good afternoon I'm Fletcher Tov Buncombe County public health, emergency preparedness director to start I want to states that our local stay home stay safe declaration will remain in effect as scheduled until 6:00 a.m. on Thursday April 9th. We are currently working on the draft order that will be presented to county leadership tomorrow.

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That order will go into effect as our previous order expires and will supersede previous local declarations and put us in closer alignment with governor Cooper's stay at home executive order number 121.

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There will still be some notable exceptions where Buncombe County guidance is more restrictive than the governor's guidance and we'll go over those specifics and provide further details during our community update on Wednesday at 4 p.m.

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I'll be answering one question today from the media.

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Welcome County has previously said that the peaking cases will be starting on approximately April 20th and lasting four to ten weeks. Is that still your best estimate?

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We look at several models, and first I want to emphasize that the numerical predictions of models such as these are rarely accurate. The strength and utility of these models are acting as decision-making tools and showing us what sorts of inputs and interventions have the greatest effect.

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So these models vary, but they do all tend to agree that North Carolina in Buncombe County will be seen. Our peak cases occur sometime within the next 7 to 21 days, so we can use these models to determine that the month of April is critical.

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Our efforts to mitigate the spread of kovat 19. We also know that our social distancing measures are working as these models are being updated. With information and updated data from our social distancing measures, we can see that our projected burden on health care systems is in fact decreasing to some degree.

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That's good news. We are flattening the curve, but that also means that we have to continue to maintain these measures and continue to take them seriously. I also want to point out, then, when we talk about a peak most of these models, we're looking at defined that as a peak phase, that means it's not just a single day where everything starts to get better. We may be in a peak phase for four to ten weeks where health care systems are severely strained and quite possibly overwhelmed so continue to follow.

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Guidance from public health officials stay home, keep your distance and limit yourself to essential travel. Only we get through this as a community, and it takes every one of us working together to ensure that we get through in the best manner possible. Thank you.

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My name is Kelvin hill I'm, the chief district court judge for Buncombe County Allen Thornburg is our senior resident judge. Last week, chief justice Shara Beasley North Carolina Supreme Court. She extended our operation order for the course. This most recent order will be through June 1st other than that. Our district courts are functioning as they did under the first order from the chief justice.

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The one exception in the extension as I interpret it is that we can do more things remotely than we normally do in our courts.

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We are still doing essential functions, as mandated by the North Carolina and federal constitutions handling mostly cases involving people who are still in our jails. We continue to hear bond matters as they come to the attention of the course. We have spoken to the county officials about more electronic monitors and expect to get additional monitors in the coming days. This would allow courts to feel more confident of the community safety as we reach riskier detainees.

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These monitors would allow for an additional level of supervision. I am rotating our judges in teams of two or three.

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In our course so that if some of us get infected.

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We will still have two or three to carry on the constitutional obligations of our courts.

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These Furio courts are continuing to operate and judge Thornburg has issued an order, as recently as Friday laying out Superior Court directives, I feel confident that they too are still concentrating on the people we have in custody.

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People out of jail occasionally are coming into the course, and we are basically advising them of their right to a lawyer and giving them a court date for other Superior. Court matters. Please see, judge Thornburg's order of last Friday. It is published on our local bar website.

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Hello, my name is Dan Flynn I'm, a division chief with the city of Asheville, Fire Department, but today, I speak to you on behalf of all firefighters and first responders in Buncombe County. We are asking members of our community to help us as we assist you.

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Community connect is one way that people in Buncombe County can provide information to first responders about your home, and your family community connect is a way to assist first responders as they respond to 911 calls by providing an overview of your household to first responders.

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Important information such as the people in your household with functional needs are their pets in the home. How many individuals live in the residence where the utility shutoffs might be? All of this information is made available to first responders, as they are on their way to your address in an emergency.

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Additionally, if you or someone in your household could possibly be infected with kovat 19 community connect allows you to report this information to first responders so that they can better prepare for a specialized approach.

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By having this information first responders can increase your safety as well as ours, whether you live in the city of Asheville or Buncombe. County go to Buncombe County org website to sign up doing so will help buncombe, county and city firefighters provide the highest level of service in the event that you have an emergency again to sign up visit the Cova 19 page found on buncombe county dot. Org click community connect to share your information with our local firefighters.

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So, in addition to the updates provided by our speakers, Buncombe County and the city of Asheville are pleased to announce that an official launch of the ready team to help answer Cova 19, related questions.

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The ready team call center is an extension of the Emergency Operations Center and is focused on business and general questions related to covin 19 in Buncombe County.

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They have already been answering many questions related to Buncombe counties, stay safe, stay home order. The ready team call center runs from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

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The call center can be reached at eight two, eight four one: nine zero, zero, nine five or by email at ready at Buncombe, County dot, org. That's our e, a d y at Buncombe, County, dot org.

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The ready team is working with the United Way's 2-1-1 call center to ensure that there are language options for Spanish, Russians and multiple other languages.

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We encourage the community to please continue, calling 2-1-1 for information on resources available in Buncombe, County.

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This concludes our community update. For today we will provide the next community update on Wednesday April, 8th at 4 p.m. as always. We encourage you to get accurate information on Kovan 19 from sites like the CDC, the state of North Carolina's coded 19 page in Buncombe counties, Kovan 19 page that can be accessed at buncombe county org.

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