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Description
Buncombe County's COVID-19 Community Update for June 18, 2020.
A
Good
afternoon
and
welcome
to
the
June
18th
community
update,
my
name
is
zone
PO
foo
and
I
serve
as
a
public
information
officer
in
the
emergency
operation
center.
This
community
update
is
available
in
Spanish
on
the
Buncombe
County
Health
and
Human
Services
Facebook
page
at
BC
HHS.
Today's
update
will
be
provided
by
dr.
Jennifer
Moreland
or
Buncombe
County
medical
director
and
interim
Public
Health
Director.
B
B
As
I've
said
before,
community
spread
of
kovat
19
is
occurring
in
our
County.
We
have
seen
cases
spread
through
our
community
and
households,
after
interactions
with
co-workers
trips
with
extended
family
and
friends,
attendance
at
church,
funerals
and
gatherings
with
friends
and
in
many
cases,
without
any
certain
source
of
exposure,
a
majority
of
cases
are
occurring
in
25
to
49
year
olds.
B
Please
don't
let
your
guard
down
just
because
parts
of
our
community
are
reopening,
doesn't
mean
kovat,
19
isn't
here
we
are
all
at
risk
of
being
infected
and
some
of
us
will
have
serious
illness
and
end
up
in
the
hospital
and
some
of
us
will
die.
These
are
the
facts.
We
need
to
take
this
seriously
when
you
must
go
out
in
public
or
gather
with
others
practice.
B
B
There
are
now
outbreaks
at
six
nursing
homes
in
Buncombe
County,
an
outbreak
is
considered
to
be
two
or
more
lab
confirmed
cases
in
a
facility
within
28
days.
We
are
working
with
those
facilities
on
ongoing
testing
to
identify
any
new
cases
and
residents
or
staff
in
an
effort
to
prevent
further
spread
of
infection.
B
Sadly,
36
Buncombe
County
residents
have
died
from
kovat
19,
including
31
residents
of
two
nursing
homes
that
are
experiencing
outbreaks.
Please
remember
that
long-term
care
facility
staff
are
important
members
of
our
community
who
care
for
our
mother's
father's,
grandparents,
other
family,
members
and
friends.
They
live
in
our
communities
and
they
and
their
families
are
our
neighbors.
Let's
all
do
our
part
to
keep
them
safe
and
supported
during
this
global
pandemic.
B
Today's
percent
positive
rate
is
three
point:
eight
percent,
meaning
that
three
point
eight
percent
of
the
tests
performed
on
Buncombe
County
residents
have
come
back
showing
infection
with
Kove
in
nineteen.
Our
rate
has
been
around
four
percent
for
the
past
several
weeks.
The
positivity
rate
for
North
Carolina
as
a
whole
is
9
percent,
and
other
states
in
the
southeast
us
are
also
seeing
positivity
rates
higher
than
the
rest
of
the
United
States,
which
has
a
rate
of
6
percent.
Our
region
is
being
heavily
impacted
by
Kovan
19.
B
Over
900
people
have
been
tested
at
the
community
testing
sites
held
throughout
the
county.
Over
the
past
four
and
a
half
weeks,
last
week's
community
testing
identified
new
cases
of
Kovan
19
and
we're
still
waiting
on
results
of
13
other
tests.
That
brings
us
to
a
total
of
25
individuals,
testing
positive.
So
far
at
these
testing
sites.
B
If
you
meet
the
above
criteria,
contact
your
health
care
provider
to
see
if
testing
is
available
through
them,
if
not
check,
Buncombe
ready,
org
for
a
list
of
local
sites
that
are
offering
testing
again
right.
Now,
testing
is
available
at
the
Grant
Center
at
285
Livingston
Street,
until
4:00
p.m.
this
site
is
intended
for
walk-up
traffic.
B
Language
services
are
available
at
the
community
testing
site
a
big
thank
you
to
all
of
those
who
have
volunteered
provided
testing
and
helping
with
the
coordination
helped
with
the
coordination
of
the
testing
sites.
Your
care
and
compassion
are
what
we
need
right
now,
and
there
is
no
doubt
that
caring
for
others
is
what
will
get
us
successfully
through
this
global
pandemic.
B
Next
week,
our
testing
efforts
will
be
focused
on
residential
facilities.
That
house
older
at
risk
of
dolls
and
community
testing
will
resume
the
following
week
at
locations
throughout
the
county.
These
sites
will
be
more
permanent
in
nature,
and
the
hours
of
operation
will
be
expanded
and
varied
to
serve
the
needs
of
everyone
in
our
community
and
next
week
we
will
announce
the
locations
of
the
testing
sites
for
the
week
of
June
29th.
B
Four,
six,
two
eight
seven,
two
two
three
important
messages
about
what
you
need
to
do,
for
your
health
and
for
the
health
of
those
around
you
are
given
during
those
calls,
and
we
ask
that
you
listen
to
and
follow
the
guidance
of
our
nurses
and
contact
tracers
again.
If
we
want
to
stop
the
spread
of
kovat
19
in
our
community,
we
must
follow
Public
Health
guidance.
B
B
B
A
With
dr.
Mullins
presentation,
we
will
be
concluding
our
community
briefing
after
a
few
announcements.
As
a
reminder,
bunkin
county
public
health
officials
continue
to
develop
innovative
ways
to
relay
timely
and
reliable
information
about
kovat
19
to
our
residents.
In
addition
to
these
weekly
briefings,
we
are
also
offering
free
by
weekly
webinars
called
Let's
Talk
Ovid
19,
our
next.
Let's
talk,
Ovid
19
webinar
will
be
hosted
on
Tuesday
June
23rd
at
1
o'clock
p.m.
the
focus
of
the
next.
A
Let's
talk
will
be
testing
contact,
tracing
and
you'll
also
hear
from
Buncombe
County
Public
Health
environmental
health
team.
You
can
register
for
this
webinar
on
the
events
section
of
the
Buncombe
County
government,
Facebook
page
and
finally,
the
American
Red
Cross
is
now
offering
free,
antibody
testing
to
anyone
who
donates
blood
to
make
an
appointment,
visit,
redcross.org
and
scroll
to
the
image
that
advertises
antibody
testing
with
all
donations
type
in
your
zip
code,
and
the
website
will
direct
you
to
the
donation
site
nearest
to
you.
Thank
you
for
tuning
in
to
today's
community
update.