Burke County is experiencing a late summer rise in COVID-19 infections that has led to quarantining and masking, with additional preventive measures being discussed by medical leaders.
During heat waves, similar to the one we all just experienced in Burke County, people gather indoors to take advantage of the air conditioning. Fold into that the start of Burke County public schools (always an incubator for colds and flu) and you have a recipe for infection spread.
From accounts, this strain has been milder and has not sent infected residents to hospital intensive care units.
The hospital’s COVID testing in August indicated a 26% positive rate with 434 positive tests from 1,659 total tests. July’s results showed a 17% positive rate from 1,650 tests.
The hospital this week implemented mandatory masking policies for all staff in patient-facing areas, including all inpatient units, outpatient settings, and registration areas. Masking is not required in common areas like the cafeteria. Officials said these policies are subject to change as needed.
Earlier in the week Infection Prevention Manager Karen Abare (RN, BSN, and CIC) reported that 21 patients were hospitalized for COVID during August.
Grace Ridge Retirement Community has experienced an increase in COVID-19, with some infected residents quarantined in their residences, hospital officials said. Grace Ridge is owned and managed by UNC Health Blue Ridge.
The hospital is not required to report COVID-19 data to the Center for Disease Control but monitors events internally.
Burke County Public Schools’ Public Relations Officer Cheryl Shuffler noted the start of the last school year didn’t lead to a huge upswing in cases. The district treats COVID like any other illness, asking students and employees to stay home when sick and return once they are symptom free and have no fever for at least 24 hours (without taking a fever reducer).
“We follow state guidelines and health department guidance,” she said.
The North Carolina Wastewater Monitoring Network (NCWMN), a division of the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, tests samples from treatment plants to look for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The network updates a map on its website that graphically details COVID content by region.
Wastewater treated in Burke County’s wastewater is treated by the following plants — Morganton Wastewater Plant, Lake Rhodhiss Treatment Facility (Valdese), and the City of Hickory’s Wastewater Treatment Plant (Northeast and Henry Fork).
These plants do not currently specifically record/test for COVID-19 particles.
Wastewater Superintendent Eli Self said that while there is no specific data on COVID in Burke’s wastewater, it is safe to assume that the virus is present based on the other bacteria present.
“It (the testing) confirms that COVID is here, but we already know that it is here,” Self said. The increasing numbers from within the hospital are the key metric of where the area stands as far as the COVID outbreak, he said.
“I feel that COVID in wastewater is not a concern,” Self added.
Boone, Marion, Asheville, and other western areas report COVID content in the 80%-100% of recent samples tested, according to NCWMN. To the east, the Greensboro, Durham, and Raleigh regions also report 80%-100%. There are no results for the Morganton-Hickory region.
“The testing for COVID-19 is completely voluntary. COVID-19 in wastewater is handled in the same manner as any other diseases already present in wastewater with blood-borne pathogens (BBP). With BPP and all other bacteria/diseases present in wastewater, it all goes through a disinfection process at the wastewater treatment plant, so it is not a concern to public health,” Morganton’s Public Information Officer Jonelle Sigmon said.
The voluntary data is primarily used for tracking the virus, but aggressively monitoring the virus adds pressure on municipal budgets. The added expenses include manpower to properly collect and send samples to the NCDHHS labs.
Burke’s facilities currently test daily for fecal coliform which “is an indicating bacteria used to identify if bacteria is present in a sample,” Director of Water Resources Brad Boris said. Therefore, if it is present, then there are other bacteria present as well.
“If we disinfect and kill Fecal Coliform to lower limits, then all other bacteria have been killed, too,” Boris said. “The plant disinfects the wastewater before discharge with levels well below regulatory limits. This is standard across all wastewater plants.”
“The end result is the same regardless of testing,” Boris said. “Our responsibility is to disinfect all wastewater discharge.”