Orange County Health News
August 11, 2021

Indoor mask mandate reinstated for Orange County effective Aug. 11 at 5 pm

With several key COVID metrics increasing drastically since the end of June, Orange County will reinstate its indoor countywide mask mandate effective at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 11. The mandate will apply to anyone 2 years and older, regardless of vaccination status.
Face coverings will be required in all indoor public places, including public transportation facilities and vehicles.
“With cases of COVID-19 and its Delta variant surging across Orange County and the nation, we are issuing a mandate requiring adults and children to wear face coverings while inside any building,” said Renee Price, chair of the Orange County Board of Commissioners. “This step is essential if we hope to slow the spread of the Delta variant. If you know individuals who have been reluctant to get the vaccine, please take them to a vaccination site to get their shot and to protect yourself and your family members, friends and neighbors.”
The mandate does not apply to the following individuals:

Anyone with a diagnosed medical or behavioral condition or disability, including difficulty breathing.
Children under age 2.
Children under 5 if a parent, guardian, or responsible person has been unable to place and maintain a face covering safely on the child’s face.
Anyone who is actively eating or drinking.
Anyone who is seeking to communicate with someone who is hearing impaired in a way that requires the mouth to be visible.
Anyone who is giving a speech or performance for a broadcast or to an audience where they maintain a distance of at least 20 feet is maintained from the audience.
Anyone who is working alone in an individual office setting. Face coverings must be applied when in common areas such as breakrooms, hallways, restrooms, or other areas where additional persons may be encountered.
Anyone who has determined the face covering is impeding the person’s visibility in the operation of equipment or a vehicle.

Read more.

Related Documents

If you feel a business is failing to adhere to the COVID-19 policies, please fill out this form so that an Environmental Health Specialist can work with the business to comply with the requirement:
www.orangecountync.gov/RegisterComplaint

When in public, wear a cloth face covering over your nose and mouth

Orange County Reinstates Mask Mandate
Inside County Facilities

With COVID cases surging due to the Delta variant, Orange County government has reinstituted a mask mandate for visitors and staff inside county facilities. The mandate went into effect Aug. 5, 2021, and will remain in place indefinitely.

With COVID cases surging due to the Delta variant, Orange County government has reinstituted a mask mandate for visitors and staff inside county facilities. The mandate went into effect Aug. 5, 2021, and will remain in place indefinitely.

The number of COVID tests performed through Orange County's testing sites has more than doubled in the past month, from 179 for the week of July 5-11 to 402 for the week of July 26-Aug. 1. The percent positive rate has accelerated as the Delta variant spreads.

In addition, most cases are now in the 25-49 age group with the 18-24 age group experiencing the second-most cases.

According to the Orange County Health Department, the best way to defeat the Coronavirus is for everyone who is eligible to take the safe, effective and free vaccine. The Orange County Health Department is one of many providers in the county with vaccines available.

Free COVID-19 Vaccine Clinics

Chapel Hill Vaccine Clinics

2501 Homestead Rd., Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Monday - Friday, 8:30am to 4:30pm

Please call 919-913-8088 to schedule an appointment
Moderna, Pfizer, and Janssen are available

Hillsborough Vaccine Clinics

2nd Floor, 300 W Tryon St., Hillsborough, NC 27278
Monday - Saturday, 9:00am - 5:00pm
*Closed on Thursday, August 12; Friday, August 13
*Monday, August 30: 9:00am - 2:00pm

Please call 877-505-6723 to schedule an appointment
Please call 919-913-8088 for questions
Moderna and Pfizer are available

Pop-Up Vaccine Clinics

In addition to our regularly scheduled walk-in clinics (see above), the Orange County Health Department is pleased to offer pop-up vaccine clinics to all community members ages 12 and older. We encourage you to register by calling 919-913-8088 or by visiting https://www.myspot.nc.gov. Walk-ins are also welcome!

Cedar Ridge High School
1125 New Grady Brown School Rd., Hillsborough
Thursday, August 12 from 12:00pm to 7:00pm

Rogers Road Community Center
101 Edgar St., Chapel Hill
Saturday, August 14th from 11am to 3pm

Smith Middle School, in the gym
9201 Seawell School Rd., Chapel Hill
Wednesday, August 18th from 10:00am - 2:00pm

Free COVID-19 Testing

When To Test

• If you have symptoms of COVID-19, even if you are vaccinated or had COVID-19.
• If you have had close contact with someone with COVID-19, get tested 3-5 days after exposure, even if you don't have symptoms.
• If you have are not vaccinated and may have been exposed to COVID-19, such as through travel, attending large gatherings, or being in crowded or poorly-ventilated indoor settings.
• If the Health Department recommends that you get a test.

You can take this CDC quiz to find out if you should take a test.

If you test positive, isolate for 10 days. Notify people you were in close contact with that they need to quarantine.

If you test negative, you probably were not infected at the time your sample was collected. The test result only means that you did not have COVID-19 at the time of testing. Continue to take steps to protect yourself and others.

Hillsborough Weekday COVID-19 Testing

Whitted Human Services Center (WHSC)
300 W. Tryon St., Hillsborough NC 27278
Monday through Friday from 10 am to 4 pm

Pre-registration is encouraged and may be done online. Select Orange County when registering: https://unityphm.com/campaigns/starmed

Chapel Hill Weekday COVID-19 Testing

Southern Human Services Center (SHSC)
2501 Homestead Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27516
Monday through Friday from 9am to 3pm

Testing will take place in the large conference room inside the front entrance. Pre-registration is encouraged and may be done online: https://lhi.care/covidtesting.

There will be a few closings due to holidays, weather conditions, or other events.

CDC Update on COVID-19 Vaccination during Pregnancy

COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people aged 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future. Pregnant and recently pregnant people are more likely to get severely ill with COVID-19 compared with non-pregnant people. Getting a COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy can protect you from severe illness from COVID-19.

•   Based on new evidence about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, CDC is strengthening its recommendation for COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy.
•   In a new analysis of current data from the v-safe pregnancy registry, scientists did not find an increased risk for miscarriage among people who received an mRNA COVID-19 vaccine before 20 weeks of pregnancy.
•   Additionally, previous findings from three safety monitoring systems did not find any safety concerns for pregnant people who were vaccinated late in pregnancy or for their babies.
•   Growing evidence about the safety and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy demonstrates that the benefits of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine outweigh any known or potential risks.
•   COVID-19 vaccination is recommended for all people 12 years and older, including people who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future.
•   The increased circulation of the highly contagious Delta variant, the low vaccine uptake among pregnant people, and the increased risk of severe illness and pregnancy complications related to COVID-19 infection among pregnant people make vaccination for this population more urgent than ever.

Celebrating Indigenous Milk Medicine Week

Why is Native Chest/Breastfeeding Important?

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the current literature on breastfeeding patterns among American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) mothers is scarce, thus warranting further research.

Based on the limited data, AI/AN mothers have lower rates of breastfeeding initiation (introduction of breastfeeding within one hour of birth), duration, and exclusivity relative to other racial/ethnic groups except for African Americans:

AI/AN rates of breastfeeding initiation (73%) among all races/ethnicities versus the average (83%)
Rates of breastfeeding duration at 6 months (42.4%) and at 12 months (20.7% of mothers who initiate)
76% (3 out of 4) of AI/AN mothers terminated breastfeeding within 4 months of the child’s birth
Formula supplementation is high (97%) for those mothers who didn’t initiate.
There’s no regulation on how baby formula is advertised in the U.S., a reason mothers could think formula is a substitute for breast milk.
Pasteurized donor milk could help those babies, but it’s often not covered by either private or public insurance, and buying donor milk without insurance can easily cost thousands of dollars a month.
That leaves many newborns, especially those in low-income families, without access. At “safety-net” hospitals where more than 75 percent of patients are on Medicaid, only 13 percent routinely make donor milk available to premature babies in intensive care, according to a 2012 survey.
Lack of knowledge about breastfeeding, unsupportive cultural and social norms, concerns about milk supply, poor family and social support, and unsupportive work and childcare environments make it difficult for many mothers to meet their breastfeeding goals. It is the “political, social, and environmental factors that actually shape breastfeeding.”**
On a positive note, AI/AN mothers who were still breastfeeding at 6 months were more likely to still be breastfeeding at 12 months

So, this community is to put a face to the data and to share the contributions, importance, adversity, and celebration of Native breast/chestfeeding families.

Native Breastfeeding is an act of defiance to the colonial systems and their imposed “norms” as well as a resilience of culture and body sovereignty, no matter the length of your experience. In decolonizing practices of motherhood such as breastfeeding, we can promote food sovereignty, body sovereignty, and the healing of the next generation. In decolonizing feeding practices, we follow the needs of our children.

“Extended breastfeeding” is what some advocates call breastfeeding beyond years 1 or 2, but, as an Indigenous person, to continue to meet the needs of our children by chest/breastfeeding beyond infancy, we are merely upholding our traditional parenting.

- Jasha Lyons Echo-Hawk, Oklahoma, "A Closer Look At Native Breastfeeding Week"

North Carolina COVID-19 Cases

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) reports 1,094,886 COVID-19 cases, 13,790 deaths, and 2,304 hospitalizations.

51% of North Carolina's population is at least partially vaccinated, and 47% is fully vaccinated.

There are currently 9,117 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 101 deaths in Orange County. 79% of Orange County residents are at least partially vaccinated, and 76% are fully vaccinated.

For more information regarding live updates (NCDHHS updates the site every day around noon), please visit the NCDHHS website.

Orange County Health Department also has a COVID-19 dashboard webpage, with information on COVID-19 data in the county.

Learn more about the vaccine for COVID-19

Click here to register for your COVID-19 vaccine

To register with the Orange County Health Department, NC, click here or call (919) 913-8088. Call daily, 8:30am - 4:30pm. Spanish and other languages available.

Face Coverings: NC requires face coverings for all people older than 5 years old to slow the spread of COVID.

Social Distancing: Social distancing, also called physical distancing, is a vital way to stay healthy during a pandemic.

Testing: Learn more about testing for COVID-19

Handwashing: If you are able to learn to keep good hand hygiene, it is so much easier to stay healthy.

Stay at Home: Everything you need to know about the "Safer at Home" guidance.

Image of two people, outdoors, physically distanced, while dancing

How to Gather Safely: Learn more about how to make special occasions and gatherings safer.

More information may be found at www.orangecountync.gov/coronavirus

Contact Information

For general questions (not urgent) about 2019 Novel Coronavirus, contact NCDHHS at: ncresponse@dhhs.nc.gov or 1-866-462-3821 to address general questions about coronavirus from the public.

If you are an individual or a medical practice with questions about COVID-19, call the Orange County Health Department at (919) 245-6111. During business hours (8:30a.m. to 5 p.m.)

Contact Kristin Prelipp, the Orange County Health Department’s Public Information Officer at: kprelipp@orangecountync.gov or 919-245-2462

Orange County Health Department:
Web: www.orangecountync.gov/coronavirus
Phone: 919-245-2400
Email: covid19@orangecountync.gov
Facebook: Orange County Health Department
Instagram: OrangeHealthNC
Twitter: Orange Health NC
Youtube: OCHDNC