In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Macon County Economic Development Commission has established the Reopening Macon Fund. The program, funded by a $257,500 appropriation from the Macon County Board of Commissioners, will provide low-interest loans to severely impacted small businesses in Macon County, helping them to remain open. 

Macon County has seen the largest spike in COVID-19 cases recently, with 230 confirmed cases as of June 15.

Updated 6/4/20: Macon County now has 109 positive COVID-19 cases, 94 of those are active.

Macon County has seen a surge in positive COVID-19 cases within the last week as two clusters were identified and testing capabilities increased.

When Macon County officials started their 2020-21 budget process back in early February, COVID-19 was barely a blip on their radar. 

On May 24, Macon County Public Health announced a cluster of cases centered around the Evangelical Ebenezer Church. As of press time on May 26, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services had reported 18 cases in Macon County, up from four cases May 15. One Macon resident died from the disease, reported April 6.

Dorothy Rose “Dot” Crawford was recently honored with the title of “Macon Matriarch” by the Women’s History Trail, a project of the Folk Heritage Association of Macon County. 

Proactive testing by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians has revealed community transmission of COVID-19 in Jackson County.

Heavy rains and high winds associated with strong storms last Sunday night led to plenty of headaches Monday morning, as downed limbs cut power and closed roads while swollen streams slipped their banks, flooding businesses and residences across Western North Carolina.