News Flash

People, not numbers:

*5-28-20, Madison County Health Department verified mistake in State database. Only 2 cases.

 Over the past week, the COVID-19 case count in Haywood County has risen dramatically.  The numbers of close contacts for each case are also increasing, which is creating more complex and challenging contact tracing work.  This trend will undoubtedly continue and expand exponentially with the ongoing implementation of Phase 2.  We here at the Haywood County Health Department will continue to meet the increasing demands involved in the vital work of contact tracing as the number and complexity of cases rises.  Now we urgently need you to help us keep our heads above water and do your part to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Take responsibility for exercising precautions like social distancing, masking in public and at work, and handwashing to protect yourself and others.  Take responsibility for staying home when you are sick, and contacting your doctor about your symptoms and potential testing.  Take responsibility for showing some kindness to one another and recognizing that everyone is under a lot of stress right now.  Take responsibility for ignoring the rumor mill and regularly checking reliable sources for information below:

• Haywood County Covid-19 page https://www.haywoodcountync.gov/684/Coronavirus-Covid-19-Information
• The Facebook pages of Haywood County’s Health and Human Services Agency, Emergency Management Services, Sheriff’s Office, and Government
• The Mountaineer and Smoky Mountain News
• The dedicated COVID-19 web pages at the CDC https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html and North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/
• Haywood County COVID-19 hotline (828-356-2019), open Monday through Friday, 8-5
• HCHHS Medical Director Dr. Mark Jaben’s regular COVID-19 video updates, which are posted online through Smoky Mountain News (SMN), The Mountaineer, the various county Facebook pages, the SMN YouTube channel, and Dr. Jaben’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/user/jabenm).

• Attached is an interesting article about what we can learn from endurance athletes about getting through the pandemic. Essentially, it boil down to the four P’s:
  • Patience: acknowledge that this outbreak is not going to be over any time soon and will in fact be long – and hard. If you approach the situation with the appropriate expectations, it helps you to endure for the long haul. 
  • Pacing: Don’t get too confident too early.  Pace yourself. Don’t make big changes to your approach (like letting go of social distancing, masking, etc.) too early in the process. Steadiness wins the race.
  • Process (over outcome): Don’t focus on the end of the outbreak. Focus on your pacing, outlook, and response to external forces.  It’s OK to keep the end goal in mind, but we’ve got to manage the outbreak case by case, day to day.
  • Purpose: We constantly weigh our perceptions of effort associated with an activity (i.e. how hard something feels) against our motivation to do that activity. When perception of effort is greater than motivation, we slow down or ease up until the two are balanced.  Increase your motivation to stick with appropriate COVID-19 interventions by giving it purpose.  Think of who you are doing it for, besides yourself.  Do you have elderly parents?  A friend who is medically fragile?  When you feel your motivation flagging, think of them, and recommit.

o   https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/21/well/mind/coronavirus-athletes-marathons-triathlons-sports-cycling.html

• The difference between and Outbreak of COVID and a Cluster of COVID: In congregate living settings, an outbreak of COVID-19 is defined as two or more laboratory-confirmed cases within a 28-day period. In other settings – including occupational, educational, and other community settings – it can be difficult to determine whether a cluster of cases is occurring due to transmission within the specific setting or spread in the broader community. A cluster is defined as:

o   A minimum of 5 cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period AND

o   Plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases

• Congratulations to the local high school and college graduates of 2020. There’s an old saying “May you live in interesting times.” The challenges you are facing now: setting comfort aside for the greater good by wearing masks; recommitting daily to social distancing at a time normally dedicated to senior awards ceremonies and celebrations; and helping your community by unifying in the face of a common enemy (COVID-19) will serve you well in the future. There is no doubt that the situation is unfair and, honestly, kind of stinks.  However, many of you are displaying a level of tenacity, patience, selflessness and dedication to the greater good that has not been required of a generation in a very long time.  Your experiences today will equip you with a unique approach and skill set that will shape the future of our country and society. We look forward to seeing what you make of this world. To paraphrase another related quote “These are times of danger and uncertainty; but they are also more open to the creative energy of men and women than any other time in history.”