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Lisa Harrison, director of Granville-Vance Public Health (GVPH), appeared on WIZS Town Talk Wednesday at 11 a.m.
According to Harrison, GVPH and its support teams have been working with the local public school systems, private schools and charter schools to ensure safety and to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as much as possible.
“We have some dedicated nurses who have been working really hard since March with our school systems who are trying to figure out how to manage in this new world order of COVID-19,” said Harrison. “We are trying to provide enough data, updates and information for our school systems to make good decisions and to manage any outbreaks or clusters.”
At this time of Thanksgiving, Harrison said she is thankful for the positive working relationships that she and GVPH have with community partners. Addressing one such partner, the Vance County Court System, Harrison said their partnership led to the quick handling of the Vance County Courthouse’s recently reported cluster of positive COVID cases.
“We have taken a tour of the courthouse a number of times over the past eight months just to make sure we’re informing all on the procedures that are new and different, to make sure that people are screened and to make sure that we are preventing the spread of COVID as much as possible,” explained Harrison. “Unfortunately, it [COVID spread] still happens.”
Due to a reported COVID cluster, Vance County court sessions were canceled beginning November 19 and will remain canceled through December 3, 2020, as of the time of this posting. The courthouse will remain open for necessary business during this time.
Clarifying the term COVID ‘cluster’ versus an ‘outbreak,’ Harrison said clusters are defined as five or more cases in one location that are tied together. Clusters are also commonly referred to in locations that are not healthcare-related, such as schools and courthouses.
Outbreaks, on the other hand, are defined as two or more cases in healthcare settings and long-term care facilities where the spread can be more rapid and detrimental if not quickly controlled.
Data reported ahead of Thanksgiving Day indicated 1,604 total confirmed positive cases of COVID-19 in Vance County, with 446 known active cases.
Of those 1,604 cases, 1,434 are associated with community spread, 58 are associated with Pelican Health of Henderson, 49 are associated with Kerr Lake Nursing Home, 62 are associated with Senior Citizens Nursing Home (42 of which are new and still active) and one is associated with Alliance Rehabilitative Care.
These numbers include 54 individuals who have died from COVID-related complications in Vance County.
COVID testing is ongoing through Maria Parham Health, GVPH and private institutions. Please visit www.gvph.org/COVID-19/ for the latest local information.
To hear the interview with Harrison in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.