Hickory Sun

Burke County issued the following announcement on May 11.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: COVID-19 Burke County Media Briefing

Burke County’s Response to COVID-19

• Burke County is currently at 145 positive cases. The cases consist of traveling, congregate living, and community spread. All positive cases are isolated and Public Health staff continues to investigate the cases and will be locating those close contacts to help contain the spread of the infection.

• Numbers noted on the state website may fluctuate during the public health investigations when staff find out that some positive tests are truly not Burke County residents. Numbers listed above are correct numbers for Burke County.

• Public information line has been opened Monday through Friday, 8am – 5pm for those with questions can call 828-764-9388.

Please remember that as each community across NC increases testing the numbers of positive and negative tests will also increase. That is why it is still very important to follow the recommendations and executive orders from the state.

It is still important to remember that the stay at home order is still in effect and public health officials still urgently ask those that are at highest risk (Those over the age of 65, those at any age with underlying medical conditions and those with weakened immune systems) to stay at home as much as possible and follow the recommendations when out in public. Everyone following these recommendations will help reduce the spread of this infection.

All positive cases are investigated and all close contacts of those are notified and tested. If contacts are determined not to be easily identifiable then the Burke County Public Health officials will get the information out into the public for those that might have been in contact with someone testing positive. Residents will continue to put themselves at risk the more they go into public settings.

If you have any further questions or need additional information, contact the Burke County Public Information Line at 828-764-9388, Monday – Friday from 8am – 5pm. After hours, weekends and holidays, the NC Public Information Line number is provided as a resource to contact. The operator will answer your questions or direct you to the correct person to answer your questions. Or you can also visit the Burke County COVID-19 webpage at www.burkenc.org/COVID-19. If you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 and inform the dispatcher that you have symptoms listed for COVID-19..

Original source can be found here.