With Thanksgiving drawing near, it’s difficult to find a COVID-19 test in the Triangle
Local health officials continued over the past week to stress that people should not travel to see family and friends for Thanksgiving this year, especially with COVID-19 cases rising statewide and nationally.
Officials have also urged those who are going to have a Thanksgiving celebration anyways to consider limiting the number of people, requiring masks when people aren’t eating and holding the event outside. They have also recommended that those intending to hold in-person festivities seek out a COVID-19 test, but that may prove difficult for people who have procrastinated.
In Wake County, drive-through COVID-19 testing sites at Sunnybrook Parking Deck and at Radeas Labs in Wake Forest were booked through Thanksgiving as of late Sunday afternoon.
Triangle-area testing sites like CVS and Walgreens were also totally booked for Monday, with the closest available slot in Oxford, in Granville County. There were some slots open at some Raleigh-area CVS locations on Tuesday, but people tested that day would likely not have results in time for Thanksgiving, if North Carolina’s 2.5-day average turnaround time remains consistent.
From Monday to Sunday, Wake County reported 1,761 new lab-confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to data reported by the NC. Department of Health and Human Services, while Durham County reported 493 cases and Orange County reported 202 new cases. In total, there were 153 more cases reported in the Triangle from the 16th to the 22nd than in the prior week.
Durham and Wake counties have each reported three deaths over the past week.
As case numbers climb, Rodney Jenkins, Durham County’s health director, has shifted video messages he typically records once every two weeks to weekly.
“With COVID-19 cases increasing dramatically, it is very dangerous to celebrate Thanksgiving the way that we have in the past. Inviting others into your home for Thanksgiving dinner absolutely should not be considered at this time, for your or your family. It is too dangerous,” Jenkins said in a message recorded Friday.
Nursing homes
Wake County reported two outbreaks in the past week in congregate living facilities that had outbreaks earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic. An outbreak is defined as two or more cases that can plausibly be linked with each other.
Tuesday, the county reported an outbreak at Waltonwood Assisted Living - Memory Care Section, located at 750 Southeast Cary Parkway. According to DHHS’ most recent outbreak report, which was released Friday, one staff member and one resident have tested positive for COVID-19.
Then, on Friday, Wake County reported three new outbreaks, including one at Cary Health and Rehabilitation Center, 6950 Tryon Road. Like the Waltonwood facility, Cary Health and Rehab was the site of a previous outbreak. Details about the new outbreak were not included in Friday’s DHHS report.
Congregate living facilities reporting their second outbreaks must suspend visitation for at least four weeks, according to an order from DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen. Wake County recommends additional steps to stem the outbreak, including keeping employees from working elsewhere, always wearing personal protective equipment and regularly disinfecting surfaces.
There were no new cases linked this week with the two facilities that previously reported their second outbreaks.
According to the DHHS report, there are eight ongoing outbreaks at Wake County nursing homes or assisted living facilities. If the three outbreaks that Wake County reported Friday are included, there are outbreaks at 11 facilities. There is also an ongoing outbreak at the Wake County Detention Center, according to DHHS.
Orange County has three ongoing outbreaks in nursing homes, while Durham has 13 in either nursing homes or assisted living facilities. The largest outbreaks in Durham include Durham Ridge Assisted Living, which has resulted in 159 people testing positive and five residents dying, as well as Carver Living Center, where 128 people have tested positive and 10 residents have died.
COVID-19 in schools
The process of returning students to Triangle-area classrooms continued last week even as COVID-19 cases continued to climb at area schools.
Right now, Wake County Public Schools PreK-3 students are attending daily in-person classes, with the distancing limited to 3 feet in some physically smaller elementary school classrooms. Fourth- and fifth-graders are on a rotation right now in which they have one week of in-person classes followed by two weeks of virtual learning, but will shift to daily learning when the spring semester starts in January.
The News & Observer previously reported that Wake County middle school students who are currently on the one week in-class, two weeks virtual rotation will remain on it when the spring semester begins. And high school students, who have been learning virtually since March, are set to join that rotation in January.
Middle schools and high schools are required to limit capacity under Gov. Roy Cooper’s “Plan B” for reopening schools, according to The News & Observer.
Since Wake County students started to return to the classroom on Oct. 26, the district has reported 93 COVID-19 cases. Of those, 42 were reported in district’s latest update, provided Thursday. The News & Observer reported that the new cases were spread across 30 schools, with six at Broughton High School.
Durham Public Schools on Thursday approved a plan that would see students in pre-K through fifth grade attend in-person classes twice a week in the spring semester, The News & Observer reported. Students will be broken into two groups, with one learning in person on Monday and Tuesday and the other on Thursday and Friday.
Middle and high school students would continue to learn virtually.
The plan will take effect if Durham’s COVID-19 testing positivity rate falls below 4% for two consecutive weeks. Durham’s most recent positivity rate was 6%, according to DHHS data.
A Durham County private school, Liberty Christian Academy, reported 26 COVID-19 cases among staff and students, according to DHHS’ most recent report of clusters in schools and child care settings. A cluster is defined as a group of five or more cases that can plausibly be linked.
Other Triangle schools on the cluster report included Bethesda Christian Academy’s eight cases, Raleigh Christian Academy’s seven cases and Wake Christian Academy’s six cases.