COVID-19 cluster identified at Hendersonville church

HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. (December 17, 2020) – The Henderson County Department of Public Health has identified a COVID-19 cluster associated with a holiday celebration event at First Baptist Church, Hendersonville over the Dec. 5 weekend.

To date, the Health Department has identified 75 individuals who have tested positive as a result of the event. The Health Department is working to identify any additional close contacts of these individuals. The CDC defines close contact as being within approximately six feet of an infected person with COVID-19 for a cumulative 15 minutes.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services defines clusters of COVID-19 in non-congregate living settings as a minimum of five cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiologic linkage between cases.

Henderson County continues to see an increase in COVID-19 cases generated from social gatherings such as parties, family and neighborhood get-togethers. To help reduce the spread of COVID-19 at private social gatherings the Health Department urges residents to avoid large get-togethers and to continue practice of the 3Ws: Wear a face covering, Wait six feet apart and Wash your hands or use hand sanitizer. 

More guidance on community events is available on the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services website at: https://covid19.ncdhhs.gov/information/individuals-families-communities/...