Because three of the newly reported COVID-19 cases in Dare County this week are linked to Manteo High School, the school will be closed today for students and staff in order for the building to be deep-cleaned and sanitized, according to a report from OBX Today. It is expected to reopen tomorrow.
In the past two days, the Dare County Dept. of Health and Human Services has reported 40 new COVID-19 cases. Five of them are Dare County residents who are age 17 or younger.
After conducting contact tracing, the DCDHHS identified 75 direct contacts of the three cases associated with the high school, all of whom must begin quarantining immediately, OBX Today reported.
In announcing the closure, the Dare County school system did not specify whether the three people who tested positive are students, staff, or both.
UPDATE TO REPORT: The N.C. Dept. of Health and Human Services reported today 2,859 new COVID-19 cases across the state, a figure that is the second highest single-day total recorded since March when case reporting began. On Oct. 29, the NCDHHS reported 2,885 new COVID-19 cases statewide. October single-day case totals are dwarfing the single-day totals reported in July, when cases were thought to be at their peak.
There currently are 1,193 people hospitalized with COVID-19 in North Carolina, and 4,548 North Carolinians have died as a result of the disease, according to the NCDHHS dashboard. The daily positive rate, which calculates the percentage of COVI-19-positive tests among the total number of tests administered, has consistently been near or above 6 percent for weeks. Today’s rate was 6.6 percent; yesterday’s rate was 7.4 percent. The NCDHHS’s goal is 5 percent or lower.
THE BEACON, 11/5/20
The Southern Shores Beacon 