Nearly 500 New COVID-19 Cases Reported In Iredell In Last Week

Kimberly Johnson
·5 min read

MOORESVILLE, NC — The number of known COVID-19 cases in Iredell County jumped by 477 cases in the past week, county health officials reported Friday. Seven new deaths from coronavirus were also reported in the county this week, upping the death toll to 59 lives lost to the virus since March.

The new cases increase the county's tally of coronavirus cases to 5,207, according to the Iredell County Health Department. At least 26 county residents remained hospitalized for COVID-19 illness Friday afternoon.

The spread of coronavirus included 19 new cases reported at 16 Iredell-Statesville Schools this past week, the school district said Friday.

As of Nov. 20, at least 414 employees of the school district — or about 16 percent — have been quarantined for COVID-19 since August and at least 93 positive COVID-19 cases were confirmed among school district faculty or staff, ISS said.

During the week of Nov. 16, positive COVID-19 cases were reported at the following schools:

Nov. 16

  • Coddle Creek Elementary — positive case, no close contacts

  • Third Creek Elementary — positive case, close contacts have been notified

  • Lakeshore Middle School — positive case, no close contacts

  • Harmony Elementary School — positive case, close contacts have been notified

  • Cloverleaf Elementary School — positive case, close contacts have been notified

  • Sharon Elementary School — positive case, no close contacts

Nov. 17

  • Lake Norman Elementary — positive case, close contacts have been notified

  • Troutman Middle School — positive case, no close contacts

  • Scotts Elementary — positive case, close contacts have been notified

Nov. 18

  • Lakeshore Middle School — positive case, no close contacts

  • Scotts Elementary — positive case, close contacts have been notified

  • East Iredell Middle School — positive case, no close contacts

  • North Iredell High School — positive case, close contacts have been notified

  • West Iredell Middle School — positive case, no close contacts

  • CCTL Early College — positive case, no close contacts

  • Statesville High School — positive case, close contacts have been notified

  • Sharon Elementary School — positive case, close contacts have been notified

Nov. 19

  • NB Mills Elementary School — positive case, close contacts have been notified

Nov. 20

  • Northview School — positive case, close contacts have been notified

Iredell County health officials group cases into three regions of the county: North, Central and South. Here's a breakdown of how many cases were confirmed in each region as of 4 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20:

North Region (zip codes 27020, 27028, 27055, 28625, 28634, 28636, 28660, 28689 and 28678)

  • 1,039 cases (up from 956 cases reported Nov. 13)

Central Region (zip codes 27013, 28166, 28677)

  • 2,086 cases (up from 1,895 cases reported Nov. 13)

South Region (zip codes 28036, 28115, 28117, 28125)

  • 2,082 cases (up from 1,879 cases reported Nov. 13)

SEE ALSO: Coronavirus Spread In Iredell County: See Your Risk Of Exposure

Iredell County, along with 55 other counties in the state, is at a "tipping point" and should revert to stay-at-home orders to curb the spread of COVID-19, Harvard Global Health Institute said Friday.

The university's COVID Risk Level map shows the severity of coronavirus outbreak on the county level, and offers broad guidance about what is needed to contain it. Counties are considered to be at a "red level" — or tipping point where stay-at-home orders are necessary — when they report 25 or more cases per 100,000 people.

North Carolina reported 3,688 new COVID-19 cases Friday, as hospitalizations rose to a new statewide high. As of Nov. 20, at least 1,571 patients were hospitalized for coronavirus-related illness, according to state public health officials.

As of Friday, the percentage of positive tests in North Carolina was 8.3 percent, DHHS said.

Uptick in the spread of coronavirus throughout the state has prompted urgent warning from state public health officials, urging residents to forego holiday travel and to stay vigilant with precautions, such as wearing masks, frequent hand washing and social distancing.

"I am very concerned," DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen said in a statement Thursday. "We are seeing warning signs in our trends that we need to heed to keep our family and friends from getting sick and ensuring our hospitals are able to care for those that have serious illness."

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a nationwide advisory urging anyone considering travel for Thanksgiving to reconsider.

The federal agency issued a stark warning to Americans during a Thursday news conference, according to a report by The Washington Post: If you travel and choose to spend the holidays with friends and families, you could inadvertently bring the coronavirus home with you.

"What's at stake is basically the increased chance of one of your loved ones becoming sick and then being hospitalized and dying," Henry Walke, the CDC's COVID-19 incident manager, said during the briefing.

SEE ALSO: CDC Advises No Thanksgiving Travel Amid Coronavirus Spikes

Last week, in a bid to curb the increasing transmission of coronavirus throughout the state, Gov. Roy Cooper announced a new executive order clamping down on indoor gatherings, reducing the limit from 25 to 10. The new executive order, which went into effect Friday, is set to remain in place through Friday, Dec. 4.

Globally, more than 57.3million people have been infected by COVID-19, and more than 1.3 million people have died, Johns Hopkins University reported Friday. In the United States, more than 11.8 million people have been infected and more than 253,000 people have died from COVID-19.

This article originally appeared on the Mooresville Patch