ASHEVILLE, NC – August 24, 2022 – The CDC reports that the transmission level for Buncombe County is medium for the week ending August 18th. Most of North Carolina is high. For a community at a medium transmission level, the CDC recommends:
- Wear a mask on public transportation.
- You may choose to wear a mask at any time as an additional precaution to protect yourself and others.
- If you are at high risk for severe illness, consider wearing a mask indoors in public and take additional precautions.
The Buncombe County COVID-19 metrics are on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard. Data from the week ending on August 17th indicate:
- There have been 198 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 7 days down from 219 cases from the previous week.
- 67% of the total population have received their full primary vaccination series. Unchanged the past two weeks.
- 66% of people with their full primary vaccination series have had at least one booster. This has increased 1% over the past week.
- The seven-day daily average of COVID-19 hospitalizations is 83 and has increased by 5 since last week and of ICU patients is 7 and has decreased by 3 since the previous week.
- Wastewater surveillance may provide an early warning before individual testing shows that COVID-19 is spreading. The state dashboard reports that the 15-day rate of change of viral load for Buncombe County is severely increasing for the time period ending August 10th. The CDC website reports that the 15-day rate of change of viral load is severely increasing for the time period ending August 15th.
The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:
- Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters.
- People with any COVID symptoms or exposure to someone with COVID should get tested
- People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home
Vaccination sites and testing sites can be located through the North Carolina and Buncombe County Department of Health and Human Services.
Save your face masks:
- The risk level may rise with a new variant
- A person at high risk for severe illness should speak with their health care provider
- Persons with a positive test, having symptoms, or exposure to someone with COVID-19 should protect themselves and others by wearing a mask.
- Effective May 4, 2022, the North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services and the CDC recommend wearing masks in health care and long-term care settings. The N95 or KN95 mask offers the best protection. Wear a mask that is well-fitting.
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org