Health director says COVID spike at Outer Banks largely brought on by locals
The Outer Banks is one of the busiest vacation spots on the east coast and attracts thousands of tourists during the summer months. However, health experts feel its locals who are driving a COVID-19 surge in the area.
Posted — UpdatedSheila Davies, PhD and Dare County Health Director, says only “a handful of tourists” are included in the “dramatic escalation” of new cases.
The latest numbers show 1 in 5 people getting tested for COVID-19 in Dare County are testing positive for the virus. There have been 217 new cases between Aug. 2-8.
Davies points out that tourists who test positive in their home county after returning home from vacation are not included in Dare County’s data.
Around 20 percent of tests returned positive. During the same week in 2020, there were a reported 21 new cases and 2.8 percent positive test rate.
Other businesses are reverting back to to-go ordering.
Davies is concerned about students returning to school. Dare County’s school board voted last week to make masks optional. The board's vote went against Davies' guidance.
“Sadly it’s likely to get worse before it gets better,” Davies said. "It’s dramatic, the change.”
Several businesses have posted notices to Facebook saying they are shut down because of an exposure.
“Some businesses are being forced themselves to close because they don’t have the workforce to work," Davies said. "They might have too many employees under quarantine.”
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