Two new COVID-19 clusters reported, Watauga County passes 1,000 total cases

Moss Brennan, Reporter
September 26, 2020

App State announced two COVID-19 clusters Saturday in a sorority and residence hall. This is the second weekend in a row App State has announced clusters.

Nine people associated with the Alpha Delta Pi sorority have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 14 days. Seven of those nine are recovering in active isolation and two are recovered.

The other cluster was reported in Raven Rocks Residence Hall where seven people have tested positive within the last 14 days. All seven are in active isolation.

App State said public health staff are identifying and reaching out to all identified close contacts of those who tested positive. A close contact is defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as someone who has been within 6 feet of an infected person for more than 15 minutes.

Friday, Chancellor Sheri Everts told the App State board of trustees that three people associated for the football team have tested positive for COVID-19. Due to quarantine procedure, 18 coaches and players sat out the Mountaineers’ home football game against Campbell on Saturday.

App State reported 29 new active cases Saturday for 138 active cases — a new active case high. Over 500 students have tested positive since March 27.

Watauga County also passed 1,000 total cases on Saturday for a total of 1,004. Currently 200 people are active with COVID-19 in Watauga County. App State students make up over half of the total Watauga County cases.

A cluster is defined by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services as a minimum of five cases with illness onsets or initial positive results within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiological linkage between cases.

App State is hosting free pop-up testing events every Saturday in September and October in Rivers Street Parking Deck from 12-5 p.m. No appointment is required.

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About the Writer

Moss Brennan, Reporter

Moss Brennan (he/him) is a senior journalism major with a minor in political science and media studies. He has worked on The Appalachian since freshman...