From flu to COVID to STDs, here's Cumberland County's health report

Rachael Riley, Fayetteville Observer
Updated ·3 min read

While North Carolina’s COVID-19 state of emergency was lifted in August 2022, it has not meant the virus and other respiratory diseases have gone away or that other healthcare needs have diminished.

Healthcare across the state and in Cumberland County saw some constants and changes in 2023.

Here’s a look at what happened and what to know for 2024.

COVID and flu

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 579 COVID-19 deaths in North Carolina during the past three months.

According to the CDC, 25 COVID-19 hospitalization cases were in Cumberland County for the week ending Dec. 23.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, 722 flu hospitalizations outpaced 710 COVID-19 hospitalizations statewide for the week ending Dec. 23.

DHHS reports that since the start of flu season in October, there have been 30 deaths as of December.

In a December news release, Cape Fear Valley Health announced that it would update its masking policy effective Dec. 28 “due to the increased volume of respiratory infections including flu, RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) and COVID-19 in the community.”

All emergency department patients and visitors are required to wear a mask, while visitors are not allowed in the emergency department unless the patient is 65 or older or cognitively impaired.

Patients may only have one visitor once assigned a room, while children are allowed two parents or guardians once placed in a room.

Womack Army Medical Center also implemented a mask policy effective Dec. 29 for all patients and visitors ages 2 and older.

Visitation is also limited to one visitor per patient.

From COVID-19 and fly to sexually transmitted diseases, here's what to know about Cumberland County health right now.
From COVID-19 and fly to sexually transmitted diseases, here's what to know about Cumberland County health right now.

Syphilis and STDs

The state health department is reporting an uptick in early syphilis cases and congenital syphilis infections based on 2022 data, and Cumberland County remains one of the top counties for sexually transmitted diseases.

NCDHHS data shows that for the first three quarters of 2023, from Jan. 1-Sept. 30, there were statewide 48,957 new cases of chlamydia.

Cumberland County saw 2,644 new chlamydia cases, which is 302 fewer than the same reporting period in 2022.

However, Cumberland County was fourth in the state for chlamydia, behind Mecklenburg County’s 7,807 cases, Wake County’s 4,670 and Guilford County’s 3,285.

Cumberland County was also in the top five counties for gonorrhea, with 1,025 cases out of 19,587 reported statewide, falling behind Mecklenburg County with 3,480, Wake County with 1,840, Guilford County with 1,556 and Durham County with 1,054.

Cumberland County had 213 fewer gonorrhea cases than the same reporting period in 2022.

Cumberland County was third in the state, with 101 cases of primary and secondary stages of syphilis, behind Mecklenburg County with 311 cases and Wake County with 139.

The cases are a slight increase for Cumberland County, which had 99 in 2022.

Of the early latent syphilis cases, 76 cases were reported in Cumberland County, slightly down from 80 cases in 2022 and ranking fourth in the state behind Mecklenburg County with 268, Wake County with 103 and Guilford County with 92.

Cumberland County also ranked fourth in the state for HIV with 71 cases, up from 57 in 2022, and behind Mecklenburg County with 211, Wake County with 115 and Guilford County with 75 cases.

Dialysis for service members, veterans and military families

Womack Army Medical Center and the Fayetteville NC VA Coastal Health Care System opened an in-patient dialysis center Dec. 1, at 2817 Rock Merritt Ave. on Fort Liberty.

The center is a collaboration between the two healthcare organizations to provide services to active-duty service members, retirees, Veterans Affairs patients and their families.

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Medicaid expansion

North Carolina launched its Medicaid Expansion Plan on Dec. 1 to cover residents ages 19 to 64 with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level.

According to the Cumberland County Department of Social Services, about 35,000 local residents are eligible for the expansion.

North Carolina DHHS data shows 12,273 Cumberland County residents have enrolled as of December.

Staff writer Rachael Riley can be reached at rriley@fayobserver.com or 910-486-3528.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Here are the flu, COVID and STD rates in Cumberland County