NEW HANOVER COUNTY — A new tool released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will assist communities in taking protective measures to minimize impacts of Covid-19 on overall community health.
The tool rates a community’s risk level on a scale of low, medium, or high. New Hanover County has officially gone from medium to high as of Mar. 3, as PCR testing rates reached 9.6% positivity over the past 14 days.
The high level is the only one of the three rankings that recommends indoor masking no matter an individual’s vaccination status.
The CDC Community Level tool measures new Covid-19 hospital admissions, local hospital capacity and new cases. New Hanover County’s community impact level recommends that all should continue to take testing and vaccination precautions, as well as wear face-coverings indoors.
The CDC recommends immunocompromised individuals, or those at high risk for severe disease, should stay in communication with their healthcare provider about proper masks to wear.
The CDC’s community tool can be accessed here.
More information on New Hanover County’s Pandemic Operations Center (1507 Greenfield St.), which offers free vaccines and boosters, can be found at Health.NHCGov.com/Coronavirus or by calling the Coronavirus Call Center at (910) 798-6800.
Free rapid testing is also available, with set days and times open; find out more here.
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