Tag Archive for: #granvillecountynews

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

Majority of Granville’s 95 COVID-19 Cases in Prison Complex; 21 Cases in Vance

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-Press Release, Granville Vance Public Health

UPDATE: As of April 13, 2020, there are 95 known confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Granville County. Sixty-six of the 95 cases in Granville County are inmates at the Federal Bureau of Prisons Complex in Butner, NC, while the other 29 are community-based cases.

Vance County has 21 confirmed active cases of COVID-19.

Sadly, we have had our first reported deaths due to complications from COVID-19 in both counties. A 72-year old male from Vance County died April 12, 2020. He was hospitalized and had multiple pre-existing health conditions that worsened as a result of COVID-19.

In Granville County, the Bureau of Prisons reported four deaths to Granville Vance Public Health today. On April 11, 2020, an 81-year-old male died; on April 12, 2020, a 57-year-old male and a 78-year-old male died; on April 13, 2020, a 46-year-old male died, all from complications related to COVID-19. All individuals were also hospitalized and experienced underlying health conditions.

Granville Vance Public Health maintains frequent communication with individuals who test positive. A number of people report feeling better and a few have been released from isolation. The communicable disease team at your local health department continues to perform contact tracing for individual cases with known positive test results.

Other than the outbreak at the federal prison, there is no concentration of COVID-19 cases in any one specific area.

Granville Vance Public Health continues to strongly encourage everyone to continue to stay at home unless absolutely necessary to leave, in accordance with the Governor’s Executive Orders. When you do travel to stores for essential services, you will notice they are implementing additional social distancing policies for your safety. CDC recommends wearing cloth face coverings in public settings where other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain (e.g., grocery stores and pharmacies), especially in areas of significant community-based transmission. However, a cloth mask is not a substitute for social distancing and proper hand hygiene.

It is important to continue to practice regular and thorough hand washing, avoid touching your face and stay more than 6 feet apart from others at all times. The efforts everyone has participated in to stay home and stay healthy have helped flatten the epidemic curve and will continue to make a difference in stopping the spread of this virus.

Call your doctor if you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 to see if you should be tested or need medical care. If you have mild symptoms, such as fever and cough, without shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, you may not need to be tested. Instead, you should isolate yourself at home and monitor how you are feeling. This will reduce the risk of making the people around you sick.

Testing is most important for people who are seriously ill, in the hospital, in high-risk settings like nursing homes or long-term care facilities, and for healthcare workers and other first responders who are caring for those with COVID-19.

Granville Vance Public Health will provide the most up-to-date and accurate information for COVID-19 in our district online at https://gvph.org/covid-19.

Granville’s Spring Recycle & Collection Event Moved to May

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THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY

-Press Release, Granville County Government

The annual Spring Recycle and Collection event, originally scheduled for April 25, 2020, has been rescheduled for Saturday, May 16 at the Granville County Expo and Convention Center. The hours are from 8 a.m. until 1 p.m.

Vendors will be on-site offering document shredding services; the collection of electronics, scrap metal, hardback books and other items; and proper disposal of medications, sharps, inhalers, flares, ammunition and fireworks.

Polystyrene/styrofoam – not including packing peanuts – will also be collected during this event, as well as pet supplies for the Granville County Humane Society.

“The spring recycle and collection event gives residents an opportunity to protect our environment while spring cleaning,” said Granville County Recycling Coordinator Teresa Baker. “Shred Ace, GFL, the Granville County Sheriff’s Office, the Humane Society and other vendors and organizations will be on-site and ready to take unwanted items for recycling, shredding, re-purposing or proper disposal.”

To encourage backyard composting – another way to recycle by turning organic materials into soil nutrients – compost bins and countertop caddies will be available for sale during this event.

The Granville County Expo Center is located at 4185 U.S. Hwy. 15 South in Oxford. For more information about this event, contact Baker at 919-725-1417 or email her at bakertd@gcs.k12.nc.us.

Granville County Tourism

Granville Tourism Authority to Hold Budget Meeting in Response to Pandemic

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-Press Release, Granville County Government

The Granville Tourism Development Authority will have a special meeting on Tuesday, April 14, 2020, at 4 p.m. to discuss the remaining budget for fiscal year 2019-2020. This discussion will be held in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In order to prevent the spread of coronavirus, the meeting will be conducted remotely and will take place in a Zoom phone/video conference. The public is welcome to listen in, but participants should register with Tourism Director, Angela Allen by April 13 to be given access.

Allen can be contacted at 919-693-6125 or by email at angela.allen@granvillecounty.org.

Granville Vance Public Health Hosts COVID-19 ‘Virtual Town Hall’

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Granville Vance Public Health hosted a “Virtual Town Hall” session live via its Facebook page today at 11 a.m.

Public Health Director Lisa Harrison, Henderson Mayor Eddie Ellington, Maria Parham Health (MPH) CEO Bert Beard, and Major Stephen Staton with the Vance County Sheriff’s Office addressed the COVID-19 epidemic and answered questions that were submitted by the public.

Brian Short, Henderson-Vance Emergency Management director, joined the conversation by phone.

Before beginning the question and answer session, Beard provided an update on protocol changes at MPH. “Currently, we are preparing ourselves for the potential surge that will come as a result of this pandemic. We’ve reevaluated all of our infection prevention protocols, implemented additional visitor restrictions and reduced entry points to the hospital. We’ve also modified our personal protective equipment or PPE policies to provide PPE to our staff, patients and, with limited exceptions, visitors.”

Questions the government and health officials addressed in the session include:

Q: Is it safe to go outside and exercise?

A: Yes, enjoy the outdoors and the weather but practice social distancing of at least 6 feet and wear a mask when around others, if possible. Also, avoid congregating in parks or playing sports together.

Q: How many have tested positive for COVID-19 in our area?

A: There are currently 12 confirmed positive cases in Vance County and 76 in Granville County. Of the Granville County cases, 59 are reported at the Federal Correctional Complex in Butner. These numbers can be deceiving as many infected with COVID-19 may be recovering at home without seeking testing or medical care.

Q: How many ventilators does Maria Parham Health have on-site?

A: Twenty-six ventilators with 10 being designated for emergency use.

Q: How can the public show appreciation to healthcare providers?

A: The number one way is by practicing social distancing and following stay at home orders. PPE donations, homemade mask donations for visitors, food donations and words of encouragement are also greatly appreciated.

Q: How long will we need to wear masks?

A: That is still to be determined. Homemade masks protect others from your respiratory droplets but unfortunately don’t offer much protection to you from the virus.

Q: When we see evidence of the curve flattening, how long will the Stay At Home Order remain in place?

A: That is still to be determined. It’s advisable that we stay at home at least two weeks after we see the deceleration of this epidemic.

Q: What is the best way to protect children from COVID-19?

A: Hand washing and staying at home are the best ways to protect everyone. Other suggestions include keeping their immune system strong and making sure they get enough sleep and exercise. The good news is that most children with COVID-19 have mild cases, though there have been a few exceptions.

Q: Will COVID-19 decrease in the summer months or as temperatures rise?

A: We are still learning a lot about the virus. Many are hopeful that it will decrease with the heat and humidity like other viruses, but time will tell. This also means that like other viruses, it can return in the fall.

Q: Will there be an increase in testing?

A: An increase in the number of people tested and a faster testing turnaround time is expected. Testing results went from a 48-72 hour window up to 10 days, due to demand, and is now down to approximately one day. Testing with almost immediate results is expected in the next couple of months.

To hear the session in its entirety, including more detailed responses to the public’s questions, please watch the video contained in this article, or visit the Granville Vance Public Health Department’s Facebook page (click here).

Granville NC Cooperative Extension Announces New Office Hours

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-Press Release, NC Cooperative Extension

The Granville County Center of North Carolina Cooperative Extension has announced new office hours, which went into effect April 1, 2020. The Granville County Extension Center is now open from 8:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday of each week. This action is being taken due to policy changes through NC State University and the UNC Board of Governors that have been made due to the COVID-19 crisis.

“In keeping with the new work policies and mandates to utilize good social practices to slow the spread of COVID-19, NC Cooperative Extension employees are being encouraged to work at home and to limit contact in the office,” said Paul Westfall, Granville County Extension Director. “Those policy changes, combined with school closings and some families with members at a higher severity risk of COVID-19 should they contract the disease, have limited the people available to be in the office.”

The Granville County Cooperative Extension team is still available to work with clients and will continue to provide research-based information to farmers, families, and youth. “Look for a lot more use of electronic delivery methods, including webinars and use of social media,” Westfall said.

Extension Agents are available to make field visits and will be using social distancing while working with clients. Field visits are especially critical for Agriculture, as crops will soon be planted and hay will soon be cut. Agents will be using the precautions required to prevent transmission of COVID-19 while dealing with the public.

People should follow the recommendations of health professionals and follow all recommended practices to slow the spread of COVID-19. Check with NC Cooperative Extension Granville County, the Granville-Vance Health Department, or your health professional for information on COVID-19.

Granville County Public Schools

Volunteers Step In to Offer Meals to Granville Children April 10 – 17

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-Information courtesy Granville County Public Schools

Granville County Public Schools’ child nutrition staff have been working hard to provide meals to students during this difficult time. During the week of April 10 – 17, staff will not be working, so the community will be stepping in to provide some options for our hungry children.

Instead of the normal meal locations, there will be six sites open this week:

  1. CG Credle Elementary School

  2. The Oxford Housing Authority

  3. Stovall Shaw Elementary School

  4. The Highway 15 Trailer Park Neighborhood

  5. Butner Stem Middle School

  6. Mt Energy Elementary School

Volunteers will be on these sites between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to distribute meals that have been generously donated by members of the community.

In addition, the owner of the Oxford and Butner McDonalds has also generously donated meal vouchers for children during this same time. These vouchers may be received at one of the six sites. Children must be present to receive these meals.

If you are interested in volunteering to help distribute meals during this time, please click here for more information. If you would like to make a monetary donation to support this effort, please visit the Union Bank branch in Oxford or Creedmoor. Just tell the drive-thru teller you’d like to make a donation to support the Community Children Meal Program.

The school district plans to resume our child meal services on Monday, April 20 with a modified schedule of three days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Friday) as long as our staff can safely do so. We will provide updates for that program as needed.

We thank you all for your support of our children and the community. Together, we will get through these difficult times.

Granville County Public Schools

Granville Board of Education’s April 6 Meeting to be Conducted Electronically

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-Information courtesy Granville County Public Schools

NOTICE TO PUBLIC AND PRESS

The Granville County Board of Education will meet for a regular board meeting on Monday, April 6, 2020, at 6 p.m.  However, in observance of the Governor’s “Stay-at-Home” Order, this meeting will be conducted electronically, with members of the public invited to view via live stream. To join the live stream meeting, please use the following link:

https://live.myvrspot.com/player?udi=Z3Nj&c=Z3JhbnZpbGxlMQ%3D%3D

Public comments for this meeting will be accepted in writing by using the link below. Comments entered into this form between the hours of 2 and 4 p.m. on April 6, 2020, will be distributed to the Board of Education members prior to the meeting and the first two minutes of each comment will be read aloud during the meeting.

A maximum of 30 minutes in total will be allotted for public comment.

https://forms.gle/wjRRsVRpJvcrwfFs8

To view the agenda for this meeting, please click here.

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

Nine of Granville’s 18 COVID-19 Cases in Prison Facility; 6 Confirmed in Vance Co.

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-Press Release, Granville Vance Public Health

UPDATE: As of April 1, 2020, there are 10 additional known confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Granville County bringing the total number of cases to 18. Nine of the cases in Granville County are inmates at the Federal Bureau of Prisons facility in Butner, NC. Vance County has two additional confirmed cases of COVID-19 for a total of six known confirmed cases.

All Granville and Vance county cases of COVID-19 are considered to be community spread. That means we do not know the exact point of exposure of the virus for any of the individuals who are positive. The communicable disease team at your local health department continues to perform contact tracing for individual cases with known positive test results.

For the 24 cases in the two-county district, local health department staff have notified hundreds of individuals who may have been in direct contact with someone who has been confirmed positive for COVID-19. It is clear that widespread transmission is occurring, and other than the outbreak at the federal prison, there is no concentration of COVID-19 cases in any one specific area.

Not all persons with COVID-19 will have severe symptoms, some individuals may only develop mild symptoms or show none of the symptoms at all. Individuals who are positive for COVID-19 are most likely to spread the virus when symptomatic (coughing) but those who are not coughing may also spread this extremely contagious virus.

Granville Vance Health Department strongly encourages everyone to adhere to the Governor’s Executive Orders by staying at home unless absolutely necessary to leave. While COVID-19 is a novel virus, studies show for any highly infectious disease the best way to stop the spread is to drastically limit human interactions. This will help protect you from exposure to individuals who have coronavirus, whether they are symptomatic or not showing any symptoms at all.

Additionally, this will help protect our community in the event that you may be carrying the coronavirus unknowingly. It will take our entire state working together to make the greatest impact and stop the spread.

Call your doctor if you have symptoms consistent with COVID-19 to see if you should be tested or need medical care. If you have mild symptoms such as fever and cough without shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, you may not need to be tested, but instead, should isolate yourself at home and monitor how you are feeling. This will reduce the risk of making the
people around you sick.

Testing is most important for people who are seriously ill, in the hospital, people in high-risk settings like nursing homes or long-term care facilities, and healthcare workers and other first responders who are caring for those with COVID-19.

Granville Vance Public Health will provide the most up-to-date and accurate information for COVID-19 in our district online at https://gvph.org/covid-19.

Granville County Public Schools

Donations, Volunteers Needed to Keep Granville Children’s Meal Service Going

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-Information courtesy Granville County Public Schools

Granville County Public Schools is reaching out to update you on our meal service for children in our community. First, please allow us to celebrate that we have served almost 3,300 lunches and 3,300 breakfasts at 29 sites across the county!

That brings our total to almost 50,000 meals served to children in just the last two weeks!

We will continue to offer this meal service as long as we possibly can. Please know, however, that the week after next – from April 10 to 17, we will suspend our meal service as our traditional calendar staff will not be working. During that time, efforts are underway for the community to help step in and provide meal options for students.

Plans are still in the works, but if you are interested in making a monetary donation to help offset the cost of these meals for children, you can stop by the Oxford or Creedmoor Union Bank branch and ask bank staff how you can support the community-led children’s meal program.

More information will follow soon on how folks in the community can volunteer or donate packaged food to this effort as well.

We thank you all in advance for supporting our children and our community. We truly will get through these difficult times together.

Granville Vance Public Health Logo

Public Health Update: Three Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 in Granville, Two in Vance

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-Press Release, Granville Vance Public Health

UPDATE: As of March 26, 2020, there were two additional known confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Granville County bringing the total number of cases to three. The two individuals are in the same household.

Vance County has a total of two known confirmed cases of COVID-19 as of March 26, 2020.

All individuals have cooperated with isolation restrictions since being tested and are currently in isolation at home. Families of individuals who are confirmed positive for COVID-19 have be given information about isolation and quarantine and asked to remain at home for 14 days.

Local public health officials will notify any individuals if they may have been at risk of being in contact with these individuals in accordance with North Carolina Division of Public Health Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

Although the two family members traveled out of state recently, all of these cases are still considered community spread.

All 50 states have reported cases of COVID-19 to the CDC. Twenty-seven U.S. states are reporting some community spread of COVID-19. U.S. COVID-19 cases include:

  • Imported cases in travelers
  • Cases among close contacts of a known case
  • Community-acquired cases where the source of the infection is unknown

COVID-19 test results are coming from many different labs and provider offices. More than 13,000 lab tests have been completed across NC, and approximately 100 tests have been completed for residents of Granville and Vance Counties since March 11, 2020.

Granville Vance Public Health will provide the most up-to-date and accurate information for COVID-19 in our district online at https://gvph.org/. You can also see the latest case counts, a map of affected counties, and new guidance for our state online at https://www.ncdhhs.gov/covid-19-case-count-nc.

State guidance continues to require fever AND lower respiratory symptoms (cough or difficulty breathing) to be present in order to take a sample collection for testing. Although both counties have access to sample collection kits across different providers, testing is most important for people who are seriously ill, in the hospital, people in high-risk settings like nursing homes or long-term care facilities, and healthcare workers and other first responders who are caring for those with COVID-19.

Therefore, if you have mild symptoms such as fever and cough without shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, you should isolate yourself as if you have COVID-19. This will reduce the risk of making the people around you sick. You can call your doctor to see if you should be tested or need medical care.

If you are in isolation, you can stop isolating yourself when you answer YES to ALL three questions:

1. Has it been at least 7 days since you first had symptoms?
2. Have you been without fever for three days (72 hours) without any medicine for fever?
3. Are your other symptoms improved?

Call your doctor if your symptoms are getting worse or you have any concerns about your health. Emergency rooms need to be able to serve the most critically ill, so please do not use the emergency room unless you are very sick.