Health officials: New Hanover County’s virus trends ‘going in wrong direction’

NEW HANOVER COUNTY, NC (WWAY) — New Hanover County health officials are reporting three more county residents have died due to COVID-19.

The people were in their 60’s, 70’s and 80’s respectively and were all considered to be at higher risk of serious illness because of age and underlying health conditions, according to the county.

This brings the total number of New Hanover County residents who have died from COVID-19 to 47.

The New Hanover County Public Health COVID-19 dashboard will be updated in the coming days to reflect this number, once information is processed and reported by the NC Department of Health and Human Services.

“The trajectory of COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths, across the state and here in New Hanover County is going in the wrong direction, so it’s imperative our community and visitors to our area remain diligent in wearing a face covering, maintaining distance from those outside of your household and washing your hands well and often,” said New Hanover County Assistant Health Director Carla Turner, RN, MSHCA. “There are a number of testing options throughout the community, some offered for free through the county, that residents can and should take advantage of, in combination with the 3Ws, before attending or hosting small gatherings, or traveling. How we approach the Thanksgiving holiday can set us up for success through the rest of winter.”

Local public health guidance and resources for celebrating the holiday safely is available here.

COVID-19 Testing Locations

Residents can find free testing sites in New Hanover County here, or by using the Find My Testing Place tool online.

Free, open community testing located in the UNCW parking lot 1A continues Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. through November 24. This testing site is made available in partnership with UNCW, the NC Division of Public Health, and testing manufacturer eTrueNorth. Anyone can be tested for COVID-19 at this site; symptoms or being a close contact to someone with COVID-19 is not required to be tested. Registration for this testing is required either prior to arriving or on site before testing, so pre-registration is strongly encouraged here with, eTrueNorth at this link, for a faster process. The test site must receive a printed test voucher or view the voucher sent with the confirmation email sent to registrants, so pre-registering expedites this process at the site.

Additionally, New Hanover County Public Health continues to conduct outreach testing events at various sites to bring free COVID-19 testing directly to communities across the county, eliminating barriers to access. Testing criteria for these outreach sites is COVID-19 symptoms or close contact to someone confirmed to have the virus. Screening and testing is available at each site by drive-through or walk-up, and is offered by the county at no cost to the resident. No ID or insurance information is needed and face masks will be given to those who need one.

For more information on COVID-19 testing and a schedule of testing events, visit Health.NHCgov.com/Coronavirus or call the Coronavirus Call Center Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., at 910-798-6800.