CDC: Counties in northeastern NC seeing lower COVID-19 spread

A group of counties in northeastern part of North Carolina has consistently recorded lower spread of COVID-19 than the rest of the state according to the CDC.

On Tuesday, seven North Carolina counties were listed as yellow in the CDC’s color-coded map of COVID-19 transmission.

The map tracks the positivity rate and new case numbers in each county, and for weeks most of the state has been red or orange, meaning high or substantial spread.

Because it works on a seven-day average, the map changes daily – but recently, three counties have been consistently yellow, meaning moderate spread: Halifax, Northampton, and Hertford counties.

“It does appear to be regionalized in Northeastern North Carolina,” Halifax County Health Director Bruce Robistow said.

WRAL News went to the area to see what might be setting those counties apart, starting with Northampton County.

Leaders of Northampton’s COVID-19 response said because the area was so rural, many people living there would never end up crossing paths to spread the virus.

“We have a population of close to 19,000 and that 19,000 is pretty spread out from one end to the other, and that goes a long way from that density of people being so packed in on one another,” Northampton County Emergency Management Director Tony Burnette said. “So for us, that’s a blessing to be here in rural North Carolina.”

US Census data showed that Northampton County had the 11th-lowest population density in the state; however, there were 37 counties with populations that were more spread out than its neighbor, Halifax County.

So why has the area around Roanoke Rapids been seeing lower spread?

“I do attribute it to our public school system in Halifax County, which would again be considered in my mind our biggest consistent super-spreader,” Robistow said.

The Halifax health director told WRAL News he felt public schools in the county have been going above and beyond in mandating masks and social distancing measures.

State data maintained by the NC Department of Health and Human Services appeared to support Robistow’s theory: 14% of Halifax’s total COVID-19 cases have come among children under 18, compared to 16% for the state overall.

But while the area may have been doing better than most of North Carolina, healthcare leaders weren’t celebrating just yet.

“Until we get to our herd immunity, we’re not going to get this under control,” Robistow said. “So Halifax County is grateful that we’re in the yellow region.”

Like everywhere else in the state, health leaders in Northeastern North Carolina said they’ve been closely monitoring new variants of the virus.

Health officials in both Halifax and Northampton counties said they also had sufficient COVID-19 testing resources for anyone in the area who wanted one.

Pandemic response directors hoped that by keeping people in the region educated and getting them vaccinated, they could continue to minimize the spread of the virus.