Triangle health officials warn against Thanksgiving travel as COVID-19 cases rise
With Thanksgiving looming, Triangle-area COVID-19 cases continue to rise.
Wake County saw 1,602 people test positive for COVID-19 during the seven-day period from Nov. 9 to Sunday, according to data from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services. During the same period, 510 people tested positive in Durham County and 191 in Orange County. There were also two COVID-19 deaths in each of Orange and Wake counties.
Gov. Roy Cooper issued an executive order last week dropping the limit on indoor gatherings from 25 to 10 until Dec. 4, after Thanksgiving. Cooper and Dr. Mandy Cohen, the DHHS secretary, said the order was aimed at gatherings of family and friends.
The Orange County Health Department has issued two press releases in recent days addressing Thanksgiving. Last Thursday, the health department urged anyone who is planning to travel for Thanksgiving to start a two-week quarantine that day and stay home if they are feeling ill on Thanksgiving Day.
Additionally, the health department urged people to consider taking a COVID-19 screening test, keeping in mind that a negative result is only indicative of one point in time.
The health department noted that the two most effective ways to reduce the spread of COVID-19 are to limit holiday travel and limit contact with people who aren’t part of your household. Health officials also recommended outdoor events over indoor events because there is generally more space to spread out and it is harder for the virus to spread outside.
“We want people to keep in mind that the best gift you can give is the gift of health this holiday season,” Quintana Stewart, the Orange County health director, said in a prepared statement.
Durham County health officials echoed the guidance that home is the safest place this holiday season and reiterated the importance of wearing masks.
In a video message posted Friday, Rod Jenkins, the director of the Durham County Department of Public Health, said gatherings like dinner at home with one other family, gender reveal parties and game nights have all played “a significant role” in spreading COVID-19.
“There’s no safe number of people to invite into your home at this time,” Jenkins said.
Durham County has made free testing available through the end of November, even if the person being tested doesn’t have insurance.
Wake County will also re-start its free drive-through testing efforts. From 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday to Friday, testing will be available at 907 Gateway Commons Circle in Wake Forest. Tests will also be available from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 2925 Holston Lane every day this week except for Wednesday.
Even measures like requiring guests to have a negative COVID-19 test or to take a temperature check may not be enough, Jenkins said.
“Please don’t be a COVID host this holiday season,” Jenkins said. “Show how much you care about your friends, family and your own safety by making the difficult decision not to host or attend group gatherings.”
Nursing home outbreaks
Wake County has seen two incidents of congregate living facilities suffering their second COVID-19 outbreaks. According to state guidelines, an outbreak is defined as two or more people who live or work at the home testing positive for COVID-19.
Universal Health Care North Raleigh reported its second outbreak on Nov. 9, according to a release from Wake County. According to DHHS’ COVID-19 outbreak report from Nov. 13, there are five staff members at the facility who have tested positive. No residents have contracted the virus during this outbreak as of Nov. 13.
Nursing homes that have more than one outbreak must suspend visitation for 28 days, according to an order from Cohen. Wake County recommends further steps, according to a release announcing the second North Raleigh outbreak. Those include making sure that staff always wear personal protective equipment, preventing employees from working at other places and routinely disinfecting surfaces.
Wake County previously reported a second outbreak at The Laurels of Forest Glen, a skilled nursing and rehabilitation center in Garner. The Nov. 13 outbreak report indicates that two staff members at The Laurels have tested positive.
Mecklenburg County has the most ongoing outbreaks in the state with 27, followed by Forsyth’s 19, Guilford’s 18 and Gaston’s 17.
As of Friday, there are 14 ongoing outbreaks in Durham County, with seven at nursing homes and six at residential care facilities. An outbreak at Urban Ministries’ homeless shelter is also reported as ongoing.
Wake County had reported 13 outbreaks in nursing homes or residential care facilities, including the two that were seeing their second outbreaks. Additionally, the county had an ongoing outbreak in its jail that had seen one staff member and 39 inmates test positive.
In Orange County, there were three ongoing outbreaks at nursing homes.
COVID in schools
Wake County Schools reported 26 new COVID-19 cases linked to the district’s schools this week, The News & Observer previously reported.
The district has been phasing students back into in-person learning since Oct. 26. Last week saw middle school students return to the classroom under a system that split them into three groups, with each week seeing one take in-person classes and the other two continuing to learn virtually.
PreK-3 students and K-12 special-education students in regional programs initially used the one week in, two weeks out method. Monday will see that group of about 24,000 students return to the classroom full-time, The News & Observer has previously reported.
Monday will also see fourth and fifth graders return to classes in the three-week rotation.
Elementary schools are the only ones that can operate under the state’s Plan A, meaning without capacity limits and with distancing recommended but not required.
Students who are on campus must wear masks, take daily health screenings and physically distance when possible, the N&O has previously reported.
The N&O also reported that administrators could approve a plan this week that would see high school students not enrolled in the Virtual Academy return to the classroom under the three-week rotation in January, when the spring semester begins.
Most K-12 students elsewhere in the Triangle will continue virtual learning until at least January. Preschool and special-education students at Orange County Schools returned to in-person learning late last month, while Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools is set to see some students who attend adaptive classes return to the classroom on a half-day basis early in December.
Friday, DHHS released a report on clusters in child care settings and schools, which include facilities that have seen incidents of at least five people testing positive within two weeks that could plausibly be linked. There are five private schools in the Triangle that have ongoing clusters, including three in Durham and two in Wake County.
Additionally, there are two ongoing outbreaks apiece at childcare facilities in Durham and Wake counties and one in Orange County.
At the Triangle’s largest universities, there were 52 new COVID-19 cases at N.C. State in the week ending Thursday and 37 at UNC-Chapel Hill.
This story was originally published November 16, 2020 at 6:05 AM.