ASHEVILLE, NC – August 9, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard.
- For the week ending on July 22nd, hospital admissions are at a low level in every county in North Carolina and almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. Buncombe County’s COVID-19 hospitalizations are low and have increased from the previous week.
- For the week ending on July 29th, the percentage of deaths due to COVID-19 last week in North Carolina were less than 2%, the 2nd lowest level of 6 groups.
- Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina for the week ending on July 29th, however, they have increased more than 20% from the previous week.
Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on July 26th is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.
- The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at an orange level representing the 2nd highest level of 5 groups.
- The number of viral gene copies in each water sample over the past 15 days is at an increasing rate of change, the highest positive rate of change from 5 possible levels.
In summary, wastewater levels and emergency department visits are up from the previous week.
Listen to the full report below:
Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, healthyasheville@ashevillefm.org