The Hyde County Health Department reported Friday that the county has two new COVD-19 cases, up from zero cases in the last several weeks.
“This is a small number of cases, but also indicates that COVID is still in our community, and will transmit accordingly,” said Hyde County Health Director Luana Gibbs in a press release. “Now is the time to be extra vigilant, as indications are that COVID-19 will rise in our communities again.”
Testing inquiries are increasing as cases around Hyde are on the rise.
As of July 23, Hyde County has vaccinated 2,904 individuals with at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, which is 59% of our population.
There are 2,732 fully vaccinated individuals, which is 55% of the county’s population.
Gibbs said that getting vaccinated will certainly protect people from getting severely ill or dying from COVID-19.
However, “because the vaccine is not 100% effective, some people may continue to get COVID, but at a lesser degree of severity,” she said, “and many people who get vaccinated will not get the virus at all.”
The Delta variant of the virus is prevalent throughout the country, Gibbs said, and because it’s so contagious, now is the time to take action by getting vaccinated
“Our kids will be entering school soon, which gives us even more reason to get vaccinated, and to vaccinate them if they are 12 years of age or older,” she said.
To make an appointment, call the Ocracoke Health Center at 252-489-3622. Or the Hyde County Health Department at 252-926-4467 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.
According to the July 22 numbers posted online by the NC. Department of Health & Human Services:
- 1,800 new cases were reported on July 22. As recently as the beginning of this month, there were days when less than 300 new cases were reported.
- The percentage of positive COVID test results out of all tests administered was reported at 6.7% on July 22. Two weeks earlier, that percentage was 2.8%
- 751 people are hospitalized with COVID in North Carolina as of July 22. As recently as July 5, the number of people hospitalized was under 400 (391).
For more information on NC COVID metrics visit https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/
On Wednesday, Gov. Roy Cooper announced that the updated Strong Schools NC Public Health Toolkit, which is aligned with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Academy of Pediatrics guidance, urges that everything possible be done to keep students in schools and emphasizes continued masking.
The Toolkit says schools with students in kindergarten through eighth grade should require all children and staff to wear masks indoors regardless of vaccination status.
Schools with students in ninth through 12th grades should ensure that anyone who isn’t fully vaccinated, including students, wear a mask indoors.
State health officials continue to urge unvaccinated people to follow CDC and NCDHHS guidance and wear a mask indoors, Cooper said in a press release.
When Executive Order 220 expires at the end of July, North Carolina businesses and other entities where masks are required will make their own decisions about requiring masks with strong guidance provided by NCDHHS.
Everyone, regardless of vaccine status, should still wear a mask in certain places such as public transportation and healthcare facilities, the release said.
