Fayetteville, NC – Cumberland County fell into the “red zone” for the spread of the coronavirus, which prompted county officials to call on Wednesday for people to rethink Christmas and New Year celebrations.
“We know that you are tired of the pandemic and you want things to go back to normal,” said Charles Evans, chairman of the Cumberland County Commissioners Council, during a news conference. “But this is not a normal holiday season. We must continue to take steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19. “
North Carolina set up a three-tier municipal alert system last month to show where the pandemic was worse. The system combines the rate of new infections, the percentage of positive virus tests and the strain felt by local hospitals to determine the level for each county: red for critical viral spread, orange for substantial spread and yellow for significant spread.
Sixty-five of the 100 counties, including Cumberland County, were considered red zones when state officials updated the map on Tuesday. The county reported 660 infections per 100,000 residents in the past two weeks and a 13.1 percent positive rate on tests at that time.
COVID-19 County Alert System
Cumberland County was an “orange zone” in previous updates.
County health director Dr. Jennifer Green said more than 1,200 tests were positive in the past seven days, exceeding the county’s ability to track contacts.
The Cape Fear Valley Medical Center has the capacity in its emergency department to handle the flow of patients – the hospital recently set up tents in its parking lot to increase capacity – but that can change quickly, she said.
Green encouraged local churches to cut back on Christmas and other religious services this year.
“We need people to do your holiday services virtually this year – your New Year’s Eve, your Watchnight services – do them virtually. Especially for those at high risk, we need you to stay home. We need our religious leaders to take the lead this, “she said.
Health department officials received their first coronavirus vaccines on Wednesday so they can start going to the community and inoculating others.
Green, who is black, said she was vaccinated to encourage members of the minority community to do the same.
“We know that our African American community was hit hardest during this pandemic. It is extremely important that we get out and get vaccinated,” she said.