Latest Dare County Bulletin

Plan for Gradual Lifting of Restrictions on Entry to Dare County

Bulletin #48
April 21, 2020
5:00 p.m.

Plan Rationale
With careful consideration of the science, trends, data, epidemiology and resource availability, Dare County, in consultation with the Dare County Control Group, has prepared a plan to address the lifting of restrictions on entry to Dare County while protecting the safety of our community. The first phase will allow entry of non-resident property owners. It is critical for everyone to adhere to the safety measures and regulations specified in this plan.

Over the past few weeks there have been a number of changes that have improved the county’s position regarding COVID-19, including:

The number of positive COVID-19 cases in Dare County have been stable for over a week. There have been no new cases in that time.
Syndromic surveillance indicates no immediate increase in respiratory illness or COVID-19 related symptoms.
Testing is now readily available in Dare County in accordance with current NC DHHS guidelines.
Testing turnaround, the time between specimen collection and test results, has dramatically decreased over the past few weeks. Results are now received within 24-72 hours.
The Dare County Department of Public Health has increased capacity for contact tracing.
Dare County Emergency Management has confirmed with essential business operators, primarily grocery retailers, that with advance notice they have the ability to increase delivery of essential goods. As the number of shoppers increases, people may experience a greater wait time to enter a store due to restrictions on the number of customers allowed entry which is based on square footage of the store. Shoppers should also expect to see changes in product availability as supply chain demand fluctuates across the nation.
Medical surge capacity has gone from planning to implementation locally, regionally and across the State of North Carolina. Based on current COVID-19 case numbers and future projections, patients can be transported to a healthcare facility that can provide the higher level of care as needed.

Plan Details
Dare County will open to non-resident property owners who have a valid entry permit with matching government issued ID according to the schedule below:

Beginning Monday, May 4 at 6:00 a.m. - Entry begins and is ongoing for non- resident property owners whose last name begins with A - I
Beginning Wednesday, May 6 at 6:00 a.m. - Entry begins and is ongoing for non- resident property owners whose last name begins with J - R
Beginning Friday, May 8 at 6:00 a.m. - Entry begins for non-resident property owners whose last name begins with S - Z