Beaufort County Emergency Management: COVID-19 Update (1-11-21) | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

1/10/2020 Beaufort County, NC COVID-19 SITREP Updates from our previous posting have been highlighted.
The following information is as of 10pm.
    Case Statistics

• NC has had a total 623,188 confirmed cases, with 7,567 deaths. Our state currently has 128,531 active cases and 3,774 hospitalizations.
  • Beaufort County has had a total of 3,298 cases, with 934 currently active, 22 of which are hospitalized.
• All active cases are self-isolating.
• Eastern NC counties with total confirmed cases include: Bertie, (1,349), Beaufort (3,298), Bladen (2,144), Brunswick (5,204), Carteret (3,143), Camden (359), Chowan (953), Columbus (4,244), Craven (5,935), Currituck (802), Dare (1,285), Duplin (4,639), Edgecombe (3,540), Gates (416), Greene (1,676), Halifax (3,414), Hertford (1,541), Hyde (465), Jones (464), Lenoir (3,812), Martin (1,620), New Hanover (10,720), Northampton (1,218), Onslow (10,448), Pamlico (612), Pasquotank (2,130), Pender (3,257), Perquimans (631), Pitt (13,084) Sampson (5,381), Tyrrell (199), Washington (573), Wayne (8,072) and Wilson (6,317). Mecklenburg (71,437), Wake (51,290), Guilford (28,475), Forsyth (23,205), Gaston (18,008) and Durham (16,583) counties have the most cases.

    Beaufort County Statistics     Please use the following link for the latest statistics pertaining to Beaufort County cases:

    Beaufort County NC COVID Surveillance

    *This link can also be found on the Beaufort County Health Department’s Webpage.*

    Vaccine Information     Many of you have scheduled an appointment using our call center or web link. We are asking everyone that you report to the vaccine location that you registered for at the designated time appointed. PLEASE refrain from calling the Health Department or other County offices in an attempt to confirm your appointment. All Health Department staff and County staff are diligently committed to our county's COVID-19 response.

    We know there is an extremely large number of people who want the COVID-19 vaccine. As we have mentioned, vaccine is very limited at this time and we are doing the best we can to get as many people who want the vaccine vaccinated as quickly as possible.

    Currently all available appointments have been scheduled for the month of January. Please check back and monitor our website, www.bchd.net, for when more appointments are available. We anticipate the ability to begin scheduling again, January 25th at 8am. If more vaccine becomes available earlier, we will notify the public through all our normal channels, including our website and Facebook.

    COVID Testing     Beaufort County will be hosting drive-thru testing in January 2021 as follows:

• Every Monday from 11am–5pm at Fresh Anointing Church
  (820 NC Hwy 33 Aurora, NC)
• Every Wednesday from 11am–5pm at The Wilkinson Center
  (144 W Main St. Belhaven, NC)
• Every Friday from 11am–5pm at Spring Garden Missionary Baptist Church
  (526 Gladden St. Washington, NC)
• Monday–Friday from 9am–Noon at Beaufort County's Health Department
  (1436 Highland Dr., Washington, NC)

    "Find My Testing Place"     Find a testing location near you by using the following link:     https://ncdhhs-covid19-dtra.powerappsportals.us/

    NC Community Spread Map (Updated: 12/18)     North Carolina health officials are utilizing a county alert system to pinpoint counties with the highest levels of COVID-19 spread. This new map uses metrics informed by the White House Coronavirus Task Force and North Carolina's key metrics to categorize counties into three tiers

• Yellow: Significant community spread
• Orange: Substantial community spread
• Red: Critical community spread

    Health officials are using a mix of criteria to determine what tier is assigned to a county. According to the state, a county must meet the threshold of case rate for that tier and meet the threshold for either percent positive or hospital impact in that county.

    Counties that do not meet criteria for orange or red tier are categorized as being in the yellow tier and should continue to be vigilant to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

    This map of North Carolina below shows which counties are in what tiers.


    Significant     There is significant community spread.     These counties should continue to be vigilant to prevent further spread of COVID-19, but they do not meet orange or red criteria

    Substantial     There is substantial community spread.     These counties have a case rate that is between 101-200 new cases per capita in 14 days with at least 21 cases in 14 days.

    The percent positive date is between 8% and 10%, or there is a moderate impact on county hospital(s).

    Critical     There is critical community spread.     These counties have a case rate that is greater than 200 new cases per capita in 14 days with at least 42 cases in 14 days.

    The percent positive date is greater than 10%, or there is a high impact on county hospital(s).

    Re-Opening Timeline / Guidelines     Governor Cooper has announced that North Carolina will move to a modified "Stay at Home Early Closure Order" beginning at 5p Friday, December 11th. (Executive Order 181). This new order will institute a statewide curfew and restrictions upon movement of persons between the hours of 10pm and 5am daily, with the following exceptions:

1. Travel to or from a place of work when a worker's presence is required by the worker's employer;
2. Travel for work purposes;
3. Performing work at the workplace or other location directed by the employer when the worker's presence is required by the worker's employer;
4. Travel to obtain groceries, take-out food, medical care, fuel, health care supplies, or social services;
5. Travel from a business that closed at or after 10:00 PM;
6. Travel to a business that will open at or after 5:00 AM;
7. Travel to take care of a family member, friend, or pet in another household;
8. Travel necessary for purposes of personal safety;
9. Travel into or out of the State;
10. Travel required by law enforcement or court order; and
11. Using or providing shared transportation (including without limitation taxicabs, ride shares, buses, trains, airplanes, and travel to airports, train stations, or bus stations)

    In addition, this new order will require retailers / businesses to stop alcohol sales at 9pm, and close between the hours of 10pm and 5am.

    NC Executive Orders     A complete list of current NC Executive Orders can be found HERE.

    Resources     We have created a resource page that can accessed at:     https://co.beaufort.nc.us/departments/human-services/public-health/2019-coronavirus-covid-19

    This resource page contains guidance for businesses, long term care facilities, families, and more.

    We are here to offer support and answer any questions or concerns. We are encouraging all community partners to share accurate information and promote it within your businesses, communities, and elsewhere. Beaufort County's website and Facebook page are great ways to stay up to date on accurate information.

• Chris Newkirk
• Deputy Director
• Beaufort County Emergency Services
• 1420 Highland Dr
• Washington, N.C. 27889
• Office: (252) 940-6511
• Cell: (252) 378-5352
• Chris.Newkirk@co.beaufort.nc.us