BURLINGTON – Alamance County Health Department has identified a COVID-19 cluster at Positive Attitudes Youth Center (PAYC) in Burlington, and Southern Alamance High School in Graham. Currently, eight (8) cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed among six (6) children and two (2) staff at PAYC. At Southern Alamance, six (6) cases have been confirmed among three (3) children and three (3) staff. The cases will be included on the biweekly Child Care and School Settings report for NC DHHS. NC DHHS defines a cluster as minimum of five laboratory-confirmed cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases.
A COVID-19 outbreak has been identified at Brookdale Senior Living-Memory Care in Burlington. Currently, fifteen (15) cases have been confirmed among thirteen (13) residents and two (2) staff. NC DHHS defines an outbreak as two laboratory-confirmed cases in a period of 28 days within a congregate living or long-term care facility. Regular testing is required through the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in order to provide surveillance as protective factor for both staff and residents.
“We very much appreciate our close partnership with the Alamance County Health Department and rely on their professional expertise and guidance for the health and safety of our students and staff,” stated Superintendent Bruce Benson. “We have notified staff and families of our students about the cluster announcement per our established protocols and continue to reinforce the extensive health and safety protocols we have in place. The areas of the school buildings where the identified individuals were present have already undergone a systematic cleaning and disinfection ensuring that our operations at the schools can continue.”
Heather Hunter, Communications Manager with Brookdale Senior Living stated, “Brookdale’s top priority is the health and safety of our residents, patients, and associates. We have informed residents, their family members, and associates of Brookdale Burlington Memory Care of this matter. We are diligently monitoring our residents and associates for signs and symptoms, and we continue to work directly with local health officials to help ensure our residents and associates have the appropriate and necessary medical support. We will continue to follow the guidance of the health departments throughout this situation. Additionally, we have been closely following our established policies and procedures for contagious illnesses and are also closely following the guidance and protocols recommended by the local and state health departments and the CDC.”
Alamance County Health Department identified its first confirmed case of COVID-19 on March 20. Since then, a total of 12,644 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the community. Of those confirmed cases, 10,911 have been released from isolation and 1553 remain active and in isolation. Included in those active cases, 79 individuals are receiving care at a hospital. Sadly, there have been 180 COVID-19 related deaths. COVID-related deaths include only patients who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, which causes the disease COVID-19, and who died without fully recovering from the disease.
COVID-19 cases are continuing to rise in Alamance and surrounding counties. Currently, the number of active COVID-19 cases are at an all-time high. It is important to take steps to reduce your risks of contracting COVID-19, specifically wearing a face covering, maintaining physical distance and avoiding crowds, and washing your hands and cleaning commonly used surfaces regularly. These steps are imperative to control the spread of COVID-19. The health of you, your loved ones, and the community are what matters.
