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19 NC counties drop to yellow, or 'moderate,' spread on CDC's COVID-19 transmission map

Nineteen counties in North Carolina, including Orange, Lee, Halifax and Northampton, are now considered to have a lower, "moderate" spread of coronavirus.

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NASH COUNTY, N.C. — Nineteen counties in North Carolina, including Orange, Lee, Halifax and Northampton, are now considered to have a lower, "moderate" spread of coronavirus.
The counties appear as yellow on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 transmission map, which tracks the level of virus spread in certain areas. Earlier this month, Nash County become the first county in central North Carolina to drop to "yellow." Now the county has returned to orange, or substantial, status.
Courtesy: CDC

"Yellow,” or moderate, spread indicates the county has averaged less than 50 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 over a 7-day period.

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services recently allowed North Carolina school districts to lift mask mandates based on the transmission map.

Most N.C. counties, including Wake and Durham, are still in orange, or substantial spread. Wayne, Franklin and Granville counties are still considered to be in high transmission, indicated by red.

Most of the United States, especially the Northeast, Midwest and Southwest, is still in "high" transmission.

On Monday, state data will provide a first look at COVID-19 cases in North Carolina since before Thanksgiving. Before the holiday, North Carolina's curve was rising, with the state reaching an average of nearly 2,000 new, daily COVID-19 cases.

Scientists are concerned about a new COVID-19 variant called Omicron, which has prompted the U.S. and others to block flights from African countries.

Medical experts said the new variant has a large number of mutations -- suggesting it could be more contagious than other COVID variants and even evade the protections of vaccines.

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