“This individual’s family and loved ones are in our thoughts and prayers,” stated Kathy McGaha, Macon County Health Director. “With our second and third death occurring within a week of each other, our urgent message to the community continues to be: wear a mask, wash your hands, and wait 6 feet from others. Continue to practice social distancing and limit your trips outside your home to help to slow the spread of COVID-19.”

The second death was reported on July 21. The person was also over the age of 65 with underlying health conditions.

The entire state of North Carolina is under a “Safer at Home” executive order, currently under phase two with masks required to be worn when social distancing cannot be maintained. Older adults and people of any age who have serious underlying medical conditions might be at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19; however, anyone of any age can become infected with this illness. Therefore, we ask that community members strictly follow the governor’s orders and continue to practice social distancing, as well as safe hygiene measures such as hand washing and frequently cleaning touched objects and surfaces. The public can monitor the different phases of re-opening and learn more about the restrictions at

https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/guidance.

It is important to make sure the information you are getting about COVID-19 is coming directly from reliable sources. For more information, visit the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/coronavirus and NCDHHS’ website at www.ncdhhs.gov/coronavirus, which also includes future positive COVID-19 test results in North Carolina.

MCPH regularly updates our Facebook page with accurate and current information regarding COVID-19.