Beaufort County Emergency Management: COVID-19 Update (2-12-20) | Eastern North Carolina Now

Press Release:

2/11/2020 Beaufort County, NC
COVID-19 SITREP
Updates from our previous posting have been highlighted.

The following information is as of 5pm.

    Case Statistics
 PopulationTotal
Confirmed Cases
Current
Active Cases
DeathsRecovered
Worldwide7.6 Billion107,648,109
(+468,769)
45,080,849
(+190,885)
2,363,449
(+14,572)
60,203,811
(+263,312)
USA330 Million27,945,000
(+114,149)
9,571,729
(-88,932)
485,998
(+4,200)
17,887,273
(+168,881)
NC10.4 Million810,466
(+4,568)
69,718
(+4,455)
10,294
(+113)
730,454
Beaufort Co.47,0004,117
(+19)
266
(-4)
80
(+1)
3,771
(+22)
*Text in red or green indicates changes since our last update.*


  • NC has had a total 810,466 confirmed cases, with 10,294 deaths. Our state currently has 69,718 active cases and 2,185 hospitalizations.
    • Beaufort County has had a total of 4,117 cases, with 266 currently active, 8 of which are hospitalized.
  • All active cases are self-isolating.
  • Eastern NC counties with total confirmed cases include: Bertie, (1,584), Beaufort (4,117), Bladen (2,796), Brunswick (7,264), Carteret (4,132), Camden (509), Chowan (1,296), Columbus (5,469), Craven (7,742), Currituck (1,214), Dare (1,790), Duplin (5,467), Edgecombe (4,309), Gates (606), Greene (2,074), Halifax (4,807), Hertford (1,872), Hyde (612), Jones (644), Lenoir (5,103), Martin (1,956), New Hanover (14,887), Northampton (1,629), Onslow (13,982), Pamlico (855), Pasquotank (2,879), Pender (4,342), Perquimans (829), Pitt (16,422) Sampson (6,371), Tyrrell (285) Washington (888), Wayne (9,820) and Wilson (7,919). Mecklenburg (91,600), Wake (70,183), Guilford (37,594) 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
    Press Release (2/5/21)

    February 5th, 2021

    Last night, Beaufort County received a notice of vaccine allocations from the state of North Carolina for the upcoming week (February 8th – February 14th). Beaufort County providers are expecting to receive 1,300 doses of the Moderna vaccine. 900 of these doses have been allocated by the state for the specific purpose of vaccinating Phase 1 & 2 eligible marginalized community members. The administration of these vaccines to those communities will be a collaborative effort between providers, community leaders and Beaufort County's Department of Social Services.

    All previously scheduled appointments made through the health department will also be fulfilled.

    As of today, a total of 5,887 total doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered, with 5,151 Beaufort County residents have received their first dose and 736 residents who have completed the two shot series.

    Beaufort County providers remain committed in our efforts to vaccinate all those who are interested in the COVID-19 vaccine as quickly and efficiently as possible. Please continue to monitor HERE for updated information regarding the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the transitions as we move through the various phases of vaccination.

    James Madson, RN
    Health Director
    Beaufort County Health Department


    Transportation Assistance to Vaccine Appointments
    Beaufort County remains committed to the goal of providing vaccinations to all eligible citizens as quickly as possible. If you have an appointment to receive the vaccine, and are unable to secure transportation to the vaccine site on your own, please call Beaufort Area Transit System (BATS) for assistance at (252) 946-5778.


    Vaccine Opportunities
    Vaccines Availablity at Walgreens Stores
    Beginning next week, 313 of NC's Walgreens stores, including the Washington location, will receive vaccine through the Federal Retail Pharmacy program. This program allocates vaccine to pharmacies across the nation that have partnered with CDC and Operation Warp Speed. Walgreens is the initial partner for this program in NC and additional pharmacies will be receiving vaccine through the Federal Program as supply for that program increases. We do not have information on the timeline for that expansion.

    Walgreens was the suggested partner to NC based on their store volume in NC, overall federal planning needs for the Federal Retail Program, and Walgreens spread in NC based on the Social Vulnerability Index.

    Here are some additional facts on the Walgreens program:

  • Vaccinations will be based on NC priority groups and are expected to begin on 2/13.
  • Each store will only have 100 doses this week.
  • Walgreens used social vulnerability index information as well as store data to determine their locations to send vaccine in this initial week. (NC was not involved in store selection.)
  • Walgreens is emailing their customers who meet NC criteria the opportunity to go online and set up their appointments. There are currently no plans for large media pushes regarding appointment set up until locations are able to secure larger vaccine supplies.
  • Vaccines will be appointment based (4-6 per hour per store depending on the store) and each store is set up to watch vaccinated patients for the required post-vaccination period.
    • Appointments are expected to be available for Friday (2/13), Saturday (2/14) and Sunday (2/15) and will continue weekly in that cadence. They will expand the days if the appointments do not fill on those days and as their vaccine supply increases.
    • The online scheduler will have available appointments on a 3 day rolling schedule.
    • Appointments for the 1st and 2nd dose will be made in the online scheduler at the same time and reminders will be provided.
  • More information from Walgreens can be found using the following links:

    Greenville / Vidant Mega Vaccination Site
    Vidant Hospital and the Pitt County Health Dept. have announced an up coming large-scale vaccination site at Greenville's Convention Center. See below for details and sceduling information:


    A video tutorial of Vidant's scheduling process can be found HERE.


    How Vaccine Supplies and Allocations Impact Beaufort County
    Since the rollout of the first COVID-19 vaccine within the US, conversations of stockpiles, shipments, who gets it, and how many they get have flooded national, state and local conversations. Each day brings with it a seemingly growing spectrum of statements, with some saying there are millions of doses just waiting to be administered to the public and others saying we do not have enough. The truth is, both are correct. Much of the distance between these two spectrums lies in federal, state and local providers' capabilities and the timeframe they have to act.

    Almost everything related to vaccinations revolves around 1-week increments. For example, each Tuesday, the Federal Government provides North Carolina with the number of vaccines they will receive the following week. North Carolina then takes Wednesday and Thursday to determine how best to disperse the state's shipment amongst its 100 counties. That number is shared with the counties and their partnering agencies on Thursday. Counties will have Friday through Sunday to develop a plan to administer their doses to the public best. Doses typically arrive in the county on Mondays or Tuesdays, with the goal of having all those doses dispersed by Friday.

    Because of this very short time frame, federal, state, and local providers must lean forward in their planning and make presumptions in regards to vaccination efforts. For example, we presume that the number of vaccines each provider receives will at least remain consistent and most likely increase as pharmaceutical companies develop a more robust supply chain.

    So how does all this impact Beaufort County? Let's start with the presumptions. Based on conversations with state officials, past shipments, and our partnerships with other county providers, we presume that Beaufort County will continue to receive at least 400 first shot doses per week, hence the reason for scheduling 400 appointments for each week of January.

    Now for the facts. On Thursday evenings, North Carolina provides us with the total number of vaccines we will receive for the following week. If we are scheduled to receive more than 400, we will expand our appointments accordingly for that week and issue a media release on how to schedule for those new appointments as soon as possible. If we will receive less than 400, we will cancel appointments accordingly and reschedule as soon as possible. (Cancellations will be messaged directly to the person scheduled using the communication methods provided when the appointment was made.)

    Beaufort County will physically receive those doses by carrier on Monday or Tuesday and will have until Friday to administer the entire quantity.

    This entire process is completed weekly for 1st dose vaccines.

    The 2nd vaccine dose uses an entirely different concept. Those shipments are received less frequently, and the quantities of those shipments are intended to provide you with enough 2nd dose vaccines to meet your current needs at any given time.


    Message from the Governor’s Office and NCDHHS (2/10/21)
    Governor Cooper has announced that North Carolina will move to Phase 3 of the state's vaccine prioritization plan beginning Monday 2/24/21. This phase will include the vaccination of "Frontline Essential Workers". This initiative will begin with teachers, childcare center employees and school support staff. Additional frontline workers such as farm workers, restaurant employees, grocery store workers, etc. will become eligible after March 10th.




    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 Tuesday from 9am–1pm at Cornerstone Church (1918W 5th St. Washington, NC)
  • Every Wednesday from 11am–5pm at The Wilkinson Center (144 W Main St. Belhaven, NC)
  • Every Thursday from 11am–5pm at Beebee Chapel (239 Cherry Run Rd Washington, 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: 1/30)
    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

Go Back


Leave a Guest Comment

Your Name or Alias
Your Email Address ( your email address will not be published)
Enter Your Comment ( no code or urls allowed, text only please )




Readout of President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Buttigieg’s Meeting With Senators on Infrastructure Local News & Expression, Regional Health System, Government, Governing Beaufort County Drug Bust in Washington

HbAD0

 
Back to Top