April 13, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: COVID-19 Burke County Media Briefing
Burke County’s Response to COVID-19
• Burke County is reporting 60 positive cases. The cases consist of both traveling and community spread. All positive cases are isolated and Public Health staff continues to investigate the cases and will be locating those close contacts to help contain the spread of the infection.
• Numbers noted on the state website may fluctuate during the public health investigations when staff finds out that some positive tests are truly not Burke County residents. Numbers listed above are correct numbers for Burke County.
• Public information line has been opened Monday through Friday, 8am – 5pm for those with questions can call 828-764-9388.
Update from Burke County Public Schools:
Plan changes to grab-and-go meal program:
Burke County Public Schools is reducing its grab-and-go meal sites from eight schools to six, and the number of distribution days from five days a week to two days a week - Tuesdays and Fridays. The change will start the week of April 20. The same number of meals will be available to ensure students are fed breakfasts and lunches seven days a week. Extra meals will be handed out on Tuesdays and Fridays so families can stockpile the meals for children 18 and younger.
Hillcrest Elementary and Ray Childers Elementary will no longer serve as feeding sites. The school site locations will be:
● Table Rock Middle, 1585 NC 126
● Liberty Middle, 529 Enola Road
● Mountain View Elementary, 805 Bouchelle St.
● Valdese Elementary, 298 Praley St. NW
● East Burke Middle, 3519 Miller Bridge Road
● George Hildebrand Elementary, 8078 George Hildebrand School Road
For the most up-to-date bus stop times and locations, visit bit.ly/BCPSGrabLunch
The changes come as Burke County Public Schools continues to comply with the CDC’s recommendations to limit contact with one another and follow the Governor’s stay-at-home and distancing orders while schools are closed.
Burke County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Larry Putnam said, “I am so proud to say that Burke County Public Schools started serving meals to students on day one of the school closure due to COVID-19 in mid-March. Since then we have fed more than 200,000 meals to children. Our child nutrition team and school bus drivers are some of our heroes on the front lines meeting needs during this time. We are still in the midst of this pandemic and still awaiting the peak in North Carolina. We are taking these measures to do our part to continue social distancing efforts, reduce contact with each other and keep people at home as much as possible.”
Burke County Public Schools Child Nutrition Director Daniel Wall said, “It brings us such joy to be able to continue to feed children during this time and help meet this basic need. We look forward to continuing to serve our school community during these challenging times.”
Update on www.burkenc.org/COVID-19Webpage:
• Charts with percentages of positives cases by gender and age breakdowns
• These charts are updated by 5pm daily
Just a reminder again from Burke County Commissioners:
• Visit this You Tube link for an important Video Public Service Announcement message to Burke County residents: https://youtu.be/_MrU_tobYPE
If you have any further questions or need additional information, contact the Burke County Public Information Line at 828-764-9388, Monday – Friday from 8am – 5pm. After hours, weekends and holidays, the NC Public Information Line number is provided as a resource to contact. The operator will answer your questions or direct you to the correct person to answer your questions. Or you can also visit the Burke County COVID-19 webpage at www.burkenc.org/COVID-19.
If you are having a medical emergency, call 9-1-1 and inform the dispatcher that you have symptoms listed for COVID-19.
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