Full Notification

September 18, 2020

The McDowell County Health Department has been notified that 4 additional McDowell County residents have tested positive for novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).  

“The Emergency Operations Center and Public Health are committed to protecting the community.  It is our sole focus to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep McDowell County healthy and safe.  Please continue to be mindful of large gatherings, inside or out, and always be vigilant in wearing your face covering, social distancing and washing your hands. These steps are critical to keeping our positive numbers down.” stated Public Health Director Karen Powell.  

This brings the total number of positives to 848 in McDowell County. There have been 12,147 people tested, 11,117 negative results and 182 tests are pending results.  Presently, there are 51 individuals in quarantine, 770 out of quarantine and 27 deaths.

We are continuing to assist and monitor the outbreak at Cedarbrook Residential Center located in Nebo.  Two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.  No residents have tested positive at this time.  Public Health and Emergency Management are working closely with the facility to continue to test all staff and residents weekly and to take further mitigation actions to prevent the spread of the virus. 

The situation at Deer Park Health and Rehab remains stable and is being monitored closely by Public Health and the Emergency Operations Center. As of Wednesday morning, a total of 37 residents and 31 staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.  Sadly, fourteen residents at Deer Park have died due to COVID-19.  A total of 23 residents have recovered since testing positive for COVID-19.

The Health Department is working diligently to get in touch with all contacts of positives to offer testing.  We continue to quarantine all positives for 10 days, per CDC recommendations.  It is critical for Public Health to be ahead of the transmission risk by isolating anyone who has been exposed.  We cannot lose focus of this serious situation, which is to stop the transmission of COVID-19 and to save lives. If an individual would like to be tested, they can call the hotline at (828) 527- 6687. The operator will ask a list of questions and will provide the caller with the appropriate instructions based upon the answers given. The hours of operation for this hotline are 8AM – 8PM, 7 days per week.  If you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 and inform the dispatcher that you have symptoms of COVID-19.

To view McDowell County’s COVID-19 Data Dashboard, please click the following link:
http://www.mcdowellem.com/covid-19-information.html
 
Free COVID-19 testing will be conducted at the following locations via a drive-thru setup. 

• McDowell County Health Department; Monday, September 21st from 9-11 a.m.
• Yancey Street Baptist Church, Wednesday, September 23^rd from 1-3 p.m.
• McDowell County Health Department; Friday, September 25^th from 9-11 a.m.