Dare County COVID cases rise over past week
Published 7:32 am Wednesday, December 15, 2021
- This illustration, created at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reveals ultrastructural morphology exhibited by coronaviruses. Note the spikes that adorn the outer surface of the virus, which impart the look of a corona surrounding the virion, when viewed electron microscopically. In this view, the protein particles E, S, and M, also located on the outer surface of the particle, have all been labeled as well. A novel coronavirus, named Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China in 2019. The illness caused by this virus has been named coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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COVID-19 cases in Dare County again increased this past week.
Dare and 95 other North Carolina counties remain at CDC’s high level of community transmission.
The total number of new positive cases reported in Dare County for the past week was 139. The majority of new cases were acquired by direct contact with friends or family members who were positive or symptomatic.
In Dare, 129 residents have positive cases of COVID-19.
Eleven Dare residents are hospitalized with the virus, up from six on Dec. 9.
The death toll in Dare County remains at 26 residents.
On Dec. 14, 2020, North Carolina started administering the first COVID-19 vaccine to health care workers. Today, 73% of those eligible have received a first shot. For seniors over 65, the rate is 94%.
Gov. Roy Cooper urged North Carolinians to get booster shots before the holidays. In a media conference, the governor reported that COVID-19 cases rose after Thanksgiving this year and last.
Dare County’s Tuesday, Dec. 14 report says “the Outer Banks Hospital and area medical providers, as well as data from the NC DHHS, indicates that while influenza circulation remains low overall, increased numbers of influenza A (H2N2) have been detected locally and across the state in recent weeks. Additionally, there have been a handful of locally reported cases of co-occurring influenza A and COVID-19 infections.”
The Dare bulletin urges citizens to get the flu shot.