ASHEVILLE, NC – October 4, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard. For the week ending on September 23rd:
- Hospital admission levels are low in every county in North Carolina, including Buncombe County, and almost 92% of the counties in the U.S. However, they have decreased in North Carolina and increased in Buncombe County from the previous week.
- Between 2-4% of the deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID, the 3rd lowest level of 6 groups.
- Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are low in North Carolina. This represents about 2% of all ER visits, the 2nd lowest of 5 levels and fewer than 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 September 20th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.
- The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 4th highest level of 5 groups, currently between the 60th and 80th 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 decreasing from the previous week, between -10 and -99%, the lowest group of the 2 groups for a negative 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 Department of Health and Human Services recommends:
- Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines. The new updated vaccine is available locally at pharmacies, health centers and at the Buncombe County Health and Human Services Building at 40 Coxe Avenue, Asheville during regular business hours.
- 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
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.
- After the isolation period, 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