The Hyde County Health Department on Tuesday reported an uptick in COVID-19 cases attributed to an outbreak in the Hyde County correctional facility.
Total cases as of Tuesday afternoon were 145– 17 active cases, 123 recovered cases and five deaths.
Luana Gibbs, Hyde Health Department director, said the following in a press release:
“The sharp rise in active cases are attributed to an outbreak in a local correctional facility. Proper measures are being taken by the correctional facility to mitigate the virus.
“The local nursing home outbreak status is nearing completion, which simply means this facility will have reached 28 days of no COVID-19 cases.
“The Health Department continues to offer testing to anyone who suspects they are sick with COVID-19 or has been in contact with someone who has the virus. They also test those who request testing even without symptoms. There are no out-of-pocket fees to individuals, but they do ask if you have insurance, Medicaid, or Medicare, bring your card with you for testing. They also ask that clients call for an appointment as they do not see walk in clients.
“Drive through testing opportunities have been provided to the mainland with low participation rates. In order that we test as many people as possible and give Hyde citizens chances to test closer to home or work, it is important that citizens take advantage of these opportunities.”
As always, the Hyde County Health Department remains available to the public to answer questions and provide education.
They can be reached at 252-926-4399 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. For 24/7 on-call services, dial 1-866-462-3821, the Coronavirus Hotline.
