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From Craven County Government

The first case of the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) has been confirmed in Craven County.  The individual who tested positive for COVID-19 is an adult male who returned from international travel. He became symptomatic and had a negative flu test.  He was tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday, and confirmation of positive COVID-19 test results were received at the Craven County Health Department on Saturday from the North Carolina State Lab.  The individual has been in isolation at home since he was tested on Wednesday.

Craven County Health Department’s Communicable Disease staff is working to conduct contact tracing to make sure everyone who came into close contact with this individual is quarantined. Close contact is anyone who was within six feet of the individual for 10 minutes or more.

“We believe this was brought to Craven County from abroad.  We do not believe this was a community acquired transmission,” stated Scott Harrelson, Craven County Health Director.

According to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, at this time there are no approved treatments and no vaccine to prevent COVID-19; however, there are known methods to reduce and slow the spread of infection. Individuals can practice everyday prevention measures like frequent hand washing, staying home when sick, and covering coughs and sneezes. Community-based interventions can also help slow the spread of COVID-19. This includes measures collectively known as “social distancing.” Social distancing measures aim to reduce the frequency of contact and increase physical distance between persons, thereby reducing the risks of person-to-person transmission. These measures are most effective when implemented early in an epidemic. North Carolina is at a critical inflection point where we may have the opportunity to slow the spread of this epidemic by taking proactive steps now.

The Craven County COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Team is following the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services recommended mitigation measures.  NC DHHS is making the following recommendations to reduce the spread of infection while North Carolina and Craven County are still in an early stage in order to protect lives and avoid strain on our health care system.