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Lisa Harrison, director of Granville-Vance Public Health (GVPH), and Brian Short, director of Henderson-Vance Emergency Operations, appeared on WIZS Town Talk Monday at 11 a.m.

With 449 known Granville County COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths, and 355 known Vance County cases and 27 deaths reported as of Friday afternoon, Harrison and Short said precautions still need to be taken to stop the spread of the virus.

According to GVPH’s website, there are currently four outbreaks at congregate living facilities in the district, including the Federal Correctional Complex and the Murdoch Development Center in Butner and Pelican Health and Kerr Lake Nursing Home in Henderson.

Of the Granville County community-based cases, 97 have been released from isolation and five are hospitalized. Of the 263 community-based cases in Vance County, 127 have been released from isolation and nine are hospitalized.

Harrison reported that 696 NC residents are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 across the state. “The reason we keep promoting wearing face coverings, washing hands and practicing social distancing – and the point of flattening the curve – is so that we don’t overwhelm our health care system,” said Harrison. “We’ve seen in other countries how horrible it is when there aren’t enough ventilators for people. More than half-a-million tests have now been given in NC; we’re going to see the number of positives increase, and we are going to, unfortunately, see a number of those people need the hospital.”

According to Harrison, the report of increased cases is due, in part, to more testing and quicker turnaround times. “At the beginning of the pandemic response, getting access to test kits, swabs and the medium to be able to send off to a lab was really difficult to do,” stated Harrison. “We are seeing the number of available tests increase across NC because of private labs and our State lab. Mako, in our own backyard here in Vance County, is leading the charge in developing, as quickly as they can, more test kits.”

Explaining the two primary test types, Harrison said testing is currently done in the form of a nasal swab or a blood test with either a 24-48 wait for lab results or a rapid response with an answer in minutes.

An issue with the rapid result method and with the blood test is that results are not yet 100-percent accurate, which can result in false positives, according to Harrison.

For those that suspect they may be suffering from COVID-19, Harrison said the best thing to do is to contact a doctor’s office to discuss symptoms and testing. “COVID-19 is still a diagnostic test that requires a doctor’s order, that’s why we suggest contacting your primary care doctor first,” said Harrison. “We have not been able to do the sort of mass testing that people see on tv in big cities here locally yet. We will get there; I’m certain.”

In fact, Harrison said the health district’s first attempt at mass testing will be held in the parking lot of Shiloh Baptist Church in Henderson on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. Details are still being discussed and will be announced at a later date.

Short, who has worked closely with GVPH, Harrison and Granville County Emergency Services Director Jason Reavis through the pandemic, praised the business community for their response to COVID-19 restrictions.

“This is just my observation, but the overwhelming majority of people inside businesses seem to be wearing masks or face coverings,” Short said. “However, I’m not seeing a lot of social distancing, and that is disappointing. I think businesses have gone to great lengths to mark places for people to stand, place signs in the aisles and place revised occupancy notices on doors, but it’s so hard for them to enforce that inside the business. You almost need as many employees working as you have customers to really enforce them properly. I think the businesses are doing the best they can to try to protect the employees and the public, but it’s an almost insurmountable task.”

GVPH updates its website daily with Vance and Granville COVID-19 statistics. Please visit www.gvph.org/COVID-19/ for the latest information.

To hear the interview with Harrison and Short in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.