The 15 cases include 13 full-time residents and two part-time residents. An additional nine people who do not reside in Jackson County tested positive at a healthcare provider located in Jackson County. At least three positive cases of COVID-19 in Jackson County have been subcontractors working on the Apodaca Science Building construction project at Western Carolina University’s campus, though none of these are county residents.

Jackson County confirmed community transmission of COVID-19 on April 13, when two county residents tested positive with no clear indication as to how they’d contracted the disease. 

Statewide, there are 9,568 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 342 deaths. That count includes one death in Cherokee County, one in Macon, four in Buncombe and 16 in Henderson County.