Haywood County: 79 Cases Since Last Report 2 Days Ago

Haywood County -- Haywood County Health Director Dec 4, 2020: In the two days since our Tuesday summary press release,

Haywood County has had an additional 79 cases and 2 deaths (reported in a separate press release on December 2). In the past two weeks, we’ve had a 40% increase in cases. We anticipate that our numbers will continue to rise in the wake of holiday celebrations. To help control how much we are impacted by this surge in cases, we need you to:

ANSWER THE CALL!  

If you get a call from the Health Department or other contact tracers to PLEASE pick up the phone and participate.
Contact tracing is an important tool in breaking the chain of virus transmission. It is safe and confidential. It helps us reach out to people who have come into close contact with anyone who’s tested positive for COVID-19.  
If people who are positive don’t share their close contact information, we can’t notify or offer testing, safety information, and support resources to the close contacts.  Without contact tracing, close contacts may not be aware that they’ve been exposed and could be actively spreading the virus in their homes and communities, leading to more cases and potentially more deaths. Our COVID team is currently upgrading and streamlining some of our tools and processes to make the contact tracing interviews less time-consuming for everyone involved.  For contact tracing to work, everyone must do their part. ANSWER THE CALL.  
 

Avoid being a close contact with anyone. That way even if you are around someone who is infected, you won’t be.  Here’s how:

Wear a mask that covers your nose and mouth anytime you’re going to be in prolonged contact with anyone who doesn’t live in your house, whether inside or out.
Keep at least 6 feet of distance whenever you’re around people who don’t live in your household, whether inside or out.
Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, for at least 20 seconds at a time.
Clean and disinfect frequently-touched surfaces.
Stay home if you’re sick. Call your provider about testing if you have any COVID-like symptoms.
 

Be sure that you get your information from reliable resources:

https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/684/Coronavirus-Covid-19-Information
https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html