As of Jan. 11, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has recorded a total of 2,684 cases in Haywood County since the pandemic began. There are currently 391 people isolating with COVID-19. 

The health department is continuing to track the trend of people who refuse or ignore case monitoring or contact efforts. There are 44 such uncooperative positive cases now who may be ignoring the advice to isolate from others. Since it started tracking this number, there have been 64 such cases considered released, meaning all attempts to communicate with them have been exhausted and the isolation period based on positive result date has passed.

“Although we all wish it were not so, COVID-19 is still very much present in our community. Increased vaccinations will eventually begin to ease this burden, but we are a long way from that time. Please continue to stay vigilant, wear your mask anywhere you go outside your household and take every precaution not to expose other people,” said Interim Health Director Garron Bradish.

“Hospital impacts remain very high this week, which affects everyone because overwhelmed hospital systems may mean that if you have an emergency your care may be delayed due to hospital wait times worsened by COVID caseloads. We must continue to take this pandemic seriously,” said Bradish.

Vaccinations started this week in Haywood  for those over 75 people who pre-registered last week. Appointments will be scheduled in groups as the vaccine is available. If you or a loved one still need to register,do so at www.haywoodcountync.gov/vaccine or by calling 828.356.2019. 

As the vaccine rollout continues, groups of individuals eligible to begin pre-registering for the vaccine will be notified through the health department’s weekly vaccine information updates.