Burke County at 320 COVID-19 on Monday

Burke County’s Response to COVID-19
• Burke County is currently at 320 positive cases. The cases consist of traveling, congregate living,
and community spread. All positive cases are isolated and Public Health staff continues to
investigate the cases and will be locating those close contacts to help contain the spread of the
infection.
• Numbers noted on the state website may fluctuate during the public health investigations when
staff find out that some positive tests are truly not Burke County residents. Numbers listed above
are correct numbers for Burke County.
• Public information line has been opened Monday through Friday, 8am – 5pm for those with
questions can call 828-764-9388.
Our new normal, practice the 3 W’s: WEAR – a cloth face covering when out in public and in places
where you cannot physically distance yourself from others, WAIT – at least six feet from others
everywhere you are and WASH – your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds or use hand
sanitizer if you do not have access to soap and water.
If you have recently gotten a COVID-19 test but have not gotten your test results, please make sure
to contact the place where you got tested to get your results. All who get tested for COVID-19 are
REQUIRED to self-isolate (stay at home and do not go out for any reason) at home until their test
results return which could be 2 to 4 days depending upon the company doing the testing. Also, you
will need to self-isolate from others within your home until your test results come back so you do
not spread the virus within your home.
Please remember that as each community across NC increases testing the numbers of positive and
negative tests will also increase. That is why it is still very important to follow the
recommendations for those at high risk of this infection to stay at home even though more
businesses are going to start opening again after Friday. This infection continues to spread within
our community due to people continuing to gather together in large groups in close contact and for
longer periods of time. Positive individuals within this community are both symptomatic and
asymptomatic. Now is not the time to go back to doing the activities as you did them before.
For this holiday weekend, we know that it is so tempting to get out and have a holiday party, go
swimming in the nearest pool, etc. It is so important to NOT do some of these activities without
protection and to be sure to follow the updated Governor’s Executive Order started Friday, May
22. The following updates are part of the Executive Order:
• Public pools that have passed inspection can open at 50% capacity
• Large venues, arenas, stadiums can open with restrictions
• Day camps and overnight camps are open
• Parks and trails are open
• Barbers, salons, and personal care are open at 50% capacity
• Restaurants are open for in person dining at 50% capacity
• Childcare is open
• Retail is open at 50% capacity
• Gatherings are still set for up to 10 person limit inside and up to 25 person limit outside
If you have any further questions or need additional information, contact the Burke County Public
Information Line at 828-764-9388, Monday – Friday from 8am – 5pm. After hours, weekends and
holidays, the NC Public Information Line number is provided as a resource to contact. The operator will
answer your questions or direct you to the correct person to answer your questions. Or you can also visit
the Burke County COVID-19 webpage at www.burkenc.org/COVID-19. If you are having a medical
emergency, call 9-1-1 and inform the dispatcher that you have symptoms listed for COVID-19.