County health director in North Carolina tests positive for COVID-19, officials say
The health director of a North Carolina county is in isolation after contracting the coronavirus, officials say.
Dr. John Silvernail, public health director for Pitt County, tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend, according to a news release published Monday.
“All Pitt County Public Health staff have been notified,” Pitt County said in the release. “None are thought to have been in close contact with Dr. Silvernail but all have been offered testing.”
Officials also say Silvernail didn’t expose patients to the virus.
Silvernail may have gotten the infection from a family member last week, the county said. He got tested Saturday after he started to feel sick.
Now, Silvernail is at his home with “mild symptoms,” Amy Hattem, deputy director of public health, said in the news release. If he is able, he may participate in a virtual news conference Wednesday, according to officials.
The illness was reported as daily coronavirus hospitalization counts and positivity rates continue to climb statewide.
Pitt County, home to Greenville and roughly 80 miles east of Raleigh, is in the “orange” zone in the three-tiered statewide coronavirus alert map. Counties in that zone have “substantial community spread,” meaning they have at least 101 new cases per 100,000 residents over a two-week period as well as a COVID-19 positivity rate of more than 8% or a “moderate” effect on local hospitals, The News & Observer reported.
This story was originally published November 30, 2020 at 3:33 PM with the headline "County health director in North Carolina tests positive for COVID-19, officials say."
