Dare County reported a second single-day record 16 COVID-19 cases today, 10 of them nonresidents, according to the Dept. of Health and Human Services dashboard. The previous 16-case day was July 1.
There have been two days on which the DCDHHS reported 15 cases, both in July.
The total number of people who have tested positive for COVID-19 in Dare County is now 331, 184 residents and 147 nonresidents.
The latest 16 cases cover all age groups: one is age 17 or younger; four are between ages 18 and 24; five are between ages 25 and 49; three are between 50 and 64; and three are 65 or older.
According to the DCDHHS’s “July 2020 Numbers” for today, there is one Dare County resident in each age category, and all are female.
On Sunday, the DCDHHS reported two new COVID-19 cases, after a 12-case-report day on Saturday. One of the two Sunday cases is a female resident between the ages of 50 and 64 who is hospitalized.
Dr. Sheila Davies, director of the DCDHHS, has previously reported that most of the people diagnosed with COVID-19 locally have experienced only mild symptoms. It is rare that an infected person has been hospitalized, making Sunday’s case noteworthy.
Four of the people who tested positive for COVID-19 in Saturday’s report were age 17 or under. The majority of them—seven—were between the ages of 25 and 49. This is the age group that is driving the continued spread of the coronavirus in our country and preventing progress in our economic, educational, and social reopening.
The residents who tested positive today for COVID-19 are in home isolation, while all of the nonresidents transferred to their home counties for isolation.
The Beacon used to report individually on the transmission details of all COVID-19 cases, including how a person acquired the infection—whether by direct contact or by presumed community spread—and where a person acquired it. We decided recently to curtail such elaboration and give more general reports.
Over the weekend, however, a reader contacted us to inquire about how many of the nonresidents who tested positive for COVID-19 in Dare County acquired the virus outside of the area, then got diagnosed here. We will make a point of reporting on this occurrence in the future.
Dr. Davies always indicates in her Tuesday and Friday case updates whether people acquired the virus locally or outside of the area, but she does not name locations.
Since Dr. Davies’s Friday update, 30 new COVID-19 cases have been diagnosed in Dare County.
Ann G. Sjoerdsma, 7/27/20
The Southern Shores Beacon 