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Healthy Asheville Report: Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests

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WASHINGTON DC (January 14) – On January 14, the White House announced that all Americans can order free at-home COVID-19 tests at COVIDtests.gov beginning January 19. Last month, the Biden administration purchased 500 million rapid antigen at-home test kits in response to a shortage due to the recent surge of infections. The United States Postal Service will send 4 free tests to valid residential addresses and will ship them in 7 to 12 days. Hawaii Senator Brian Schatz posted a tweet that said “I just ordered at home Covid tests and it was super easy.” 

The website opened one day early in order to identify any glitches and already had hundreds of thousands of hits by early evening. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said that “we can’t guarantee there won’t be a bug or two.” People living in different units in the same apartment building have reported to be rejected because of duplicate addresses. 

The federal government website recommends that people should take an at-home test if they have symptoms; or at least 5 days after they come in close contact with someone with COVID-19; or before they gather with people who are not full vaccinated and boosted or at risk for severe disease.

The free at-home tests can also be easily obtained by phone or at the pharmacy. The federal government plans to set up a call line to order the tests. Per a recent federal government policy, private health insurance is required to cover the cost up to 12 dollars per test and up to 8 tests a month. 

Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

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Healthy Asheville Report: N95s For All

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ASHEVILLE, NC – At the January 5 media Question & Answer session, Buncombe County Public Health Director Stacie Saunders encouraged the use of medical-grade face masks over cloth masks. At the recent January 12 media Question & Answer session, she said that the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recently sent N95 medical-grade face masks to Buncombe County. These masks will be distributed with 5,000 newly arrived home tests kits. Buncombe County will join Milwaukee, New York City, Salt Lake City and Connecticut in giving out free N95 face masks to its residents. 

Wearing a face mask is still considered one of the most important public health measures to lessen the spread of COVID-19. It needs to be worn correctly over the nose and mouth to be effective. In response to the recent surge of infections, the Buncombe County Board extended the face mask policy for indoor public spaces and, on January 14, the CDC posted new guidelines that cloth masks are not as effective as surgical masks or N95 respirators. The agency recommends that  Americans “wear the most protective mask that fits well and that you can wear consistently.” 

An N95 respirator is considered the gold standard of medical-grade face masks for the ability to block 95% of very small particles and 99.8% of smaller particles the size of the COVID-19 virus because of its high filtration capacity and snug facial fit. In contrast, 2-layer cotton masks only stop 40 to 60%. N95s have been also been shown to be the most effective face covering at suppressing the transmission of the more contagious Delta and Omicron strains. In a recent op-ed in the Washington Post, the authors write that “the masks are easy to breathe in, and they’re easy to find now, too.” The KN95 mask is a face covering that looks similar to the N95 and is almost as effective. KN95 masks are better than surgical masks and cloth masks.

Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM [email protected]

 


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Healthy Asheville Report: January 18, 2022

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Buncombe County COVID-19 Community Update:

COVID-19 Infection Rate Reach Record High

Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

ASHEVILLE, NC – On January 18, the Department of Health and Human Services and Public Health Director Stacie Saunders posted the weekly Buncombe County COVID-19 Community Update. Saunders said that “Omicron is certainly showing us its power to infect our community and communities across the U.S.”

  • There is an increase in the COVID-19 case rate, hospitalizations and ICU admissions this week. The case rate is up by 26%. Last week it was up by 40%.
    Percent positivity is rising to 22.9%, well above the 5% level, indicative of a high transmission rate.
    Most new cases are between the ages 25-49; children ages 0-17 have the second largest number of new cases.
    Unvaccinated people represent 77% of hospitalizations and 87% of ICU admissions due to COVID-19 in North Carolina.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

  • Get vaccinated and boosters when eligible
    Get tested if exposed to someone with COVID-19 or have symptoms
    Stay at home if you are not feeling well, even with a negative Covid test
    Wear a mask when in public indoor spaces

Vaccination sites, testing sites, and home testing kits can be located through the Department of Health and Human Services. A new federal government policy allows every home in the U.S. to order 4 free at-home Covid tests. To make a request, go to www.Covidtests.gov.

Listen below to the recorded report:


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January 26 Show

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News Hour Show – 1.26.2022 – 

On Tonight’s Edition:

  • News Team correspondent, Dick Needleman will update us on COVID-19 policies, precautions and statistics in the city, in this week’s Healthy Asheville report.
  • Asheville Blade editor, David Forbes joined news team correspondent KP Whaley to discuss last night’s City Council meeting.
  • And News Team correspondent, Patricia Furnish spoke with Sarah Hart, the communications manager for ASAP to discuss winter farmer’s market options.

We’d like to give a special thanks to Patricia Furnish, Dick Needleman, KP Whaley and Coco Garcia for their contributions to the news hour this week. 

 

 


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Asheville Blade Journalists Arrested

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This week, news team correspondent KP Whaley spoke with David Forbes from Asheville Blade about the houseless camp raid by City Police on Christmas night, the arrest of 2 Blade journalists. They also discussed the January 11th City Council meeting.  Listen to the full interview below:

 


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