COVID cluster identified within a North Carolina sheriff’s department, officials say
COVID-19 is overtaking the Macon County Sheriff’s Office in western North Carolina, leading the county’s health department to designate it a cluster infection site.
Six members of the department’s staff have tested positive for coronavirus, Macon County Public Health reported in a Dec. 18 Facebook post. Macon County is on the state’s South Carolina state line, about three hours west of Charlotte.
Clusters are defined as instances of five or more infections diagnosed within a 14-day period, all with “plausible linkage,” the department said.
“All personnel are aware of their exposure and are currently being contacted for testing,” the health department reported. “Macon County Sheriff’s Office employees are encouraged to quarantine if they experience symptoms; those who test positive will be given isolation orders.”
Common symptoms of COVID-19 include fever, cough and “shortness of breath,” officials said.
The health department said it is searching for “additional close contacts of these individuals,” to see how far the infections have spread. Anyone who came within six feet of an infected employee for 10 minutes or longer is at risk, officials said.
The Macon County Sheriff’s Office shared a copy of the health department’s news release on Facebook, but did not comment.
Macon County has had 1,194 people contract the virus since the pandemic began and nine have died, the state reports. There are currently 181 “active cases” in the county, the health department says.
North Carolina has had more than 479,000 COVID-19 infections and 6,224 people have died. The state reports 2,748 people are currently hospitalized with the virus.
North Carolina is under a “Safer at Home” executive order, and masks are required in public when people cannot stay more than six feet apart.
This story was originally published December 21, 2020 at 10:37 AM with the headline "COVID cluster identified within a North Carolina sheriff’s department, officials say."