ASHEVILLE, NC – September 13, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard.
- For the week ending on August 26th, hospital admissions levels are low in 96 of 100 counties in North Carolina, including Buncombe County, and almost 93% of the counties in the U.S. However, they have increased in North Carolina and Buncombe County from the previous week.
- For the week ending on September 2nd, between 1-9 deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the lowest level of 6 groups.
- Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are low in North Carolina for the week ending on September 2nd. This represents about 2% of all ER visits, the 2nd lowest of 5 levels and is unchanged from last week.
Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on August 30th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.
- The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a red level representing the highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 80th and 100th percentile relative to the past level measured at the same site.
- The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample is increasing from the previous week, at 100% or greater, the highest of the 3 groups for a positive rate of change.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants everyone to know that:
- COVID-19 can affect people differently. Some people have mild symptoms like a cold and others have more severe symptoms like a bad case of the flu. Some effects can be long-lasting.
- Older adults and immunocompromised people are at a higher risk of developing severe illness and being hospitalized.
The FDA has recommended an updated COVID-19 booster from Pfizer and Moderna on Monday. The shots target one of the XBB omicron subvariants and appear to work against many others of the currently circulating variants. The following day, the CDC recommended that eligible Americans ages 6 months and older get the booster because it gives added protection against severe disease and death. The shot will be available as soon as next week
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:
- Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines
- For extra protection, wear an efficient medical grade mask
- People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home
- People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
- If you test positive, your doctor may recommend medical treatment
Buncombe County residents can pick up free COVID-19 home test kits in the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Building at 40 Coxe Avenue, Asheville during regular business hours.
If you get COVID, here’s the latest CDC guidelines:
- Isolate for 5 days provided the fever has resolved for at least 24 hours without taking any fever-reducing medicine. (Day 0 is the day that symptoms first appear. If there are no symptoms but a positive test, then day 0 is the day the test was positive.) Isolation means staying home and away from others.
- Wear a high-quality mask around others at home and in public for the next 5 days
- Masking can stop earlier with 2 negative antigen tests taken 48 hours apart
More and more Americans have developed some immunity to COVID-19 from immunizations and previous infection. New variants continue to infect people with the most at-risk groups more susceptible to severe illness.
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org