Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

NCDHHS Releases Wellness & Mental Health Resources Flyers- The North Carolina Department of Health & Human Services has released new flyers detailing mental health resources available for North Carolinians coping with COVID-19. To view the English flyer, click here. To view the Spanish flyer, click here.

COVID-19 Funeral Assistance- If you are covering the cost of a COVID-19 funeral, FEMA may be able to help. You may qualify for up to $9,000 per funeral for expenses. The following link gives an overview of eligibility requirements, services covered, and required documentation. For more information, please click here.

New CDC FAQs to Help Parents as School Resumes for Their Children –  The link below contains questions for parents to consider posing to learn more about their school’s COVID-19 precautions and offers frequently asked question (FAQ) insights that parents and caregivers may find useful on COVID-19, vaccines, masks, testing, contact tracing, quarantine/isolation, close contact precautions, sports and activities, special accommodations, community transmission, and more.

Whatever the reason, Get Behind the Mask.  We all have reasons to protect against COVID-19. Please click here or here for Spanish. 

Partner COVID-19 Testing Toolkit – The testing toolkit is geared to support community partners as they set up local community testing events.  The toolkit outlines best practices, resources available, and sources for additional information in a step-by-step outline as community partners plan, prepare, and manage a community testing event.   To access the testing toolkit, please click here or here (Spanish).

Options for Families who Need Child Care During Periods of Remote Learning – As the regulatory agency for licensed child care providers, NC DHHS has been exploring options for families who need child care during periods of remote learning for their school-aged children who are enrolled in public schools (ages 5 to 12).  Please review the letter that was sent to all school district superintendents, charter school leaders, and families (English and Spanish) on August 5, 2020.

Resources for Renters Facing Eviction – If you are unable to pay your rent and/or utilities due to COVID-19 or its economic impacts, you may qualify for assistance.  Call NC 2-1-1 to learn of resources in your community for emergency needs, including rental and utility assistance.  For more information, please click here (English) or here (Spanish).

Business Reopening Plan Checklist – All businesses and employers should create and implement a plan to minimize the opportunity for COVID-19 transmission at their facility.  When developing these plans, there may be certain considerations to follow for compliance with applicable Executive Orders and guidance provided for individual business types.  To access the checklist, please click on the following link:  https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/guidance/businesses/Checklist-for-Reopening-Plan.pdf

Face Covering Research/Studies – For a list of articles and summaries that reflect data on the effect of face coverings on the spread of COVID-19, please click on the following link:  Current Studies on Face Coverings (6-29-20).  While the list is not all-inclusive, the research included was helpful in informing Governor Cooper’s Executive Order #147.

Improved Online Application Port (ePASS) – NC DHHS is launching an improved, mobile-friendly online application for Medicaid and Food & Nutrition Services that will help support social distancing and beneficiary applications from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.  North Carolina’s online application portal, ePASS, has been improved with new and updated features that will provide an easier user experience with specific enhancements to be more mobile-friendly.  For more information, please click on one of the following links:

COVID-19 Inventory of Guidance – The NC Department of Health and Human Services has compiled information related to COVID-19 response in a single Guidance Inventory – click here to access the inventory.

 Benefits of Receiving Care Using Telehealth Services:  The NC Department of Health and Human Services and NC Medicaid is reaching out to beneficiaries to share the benefits of receiving care using telehealth services.  For many people, telehealth is a new option and our Medicaid providers have shared that some patients are hesitant to use technology to “see” their doctor.  With telehealth being an important way to receive services while avoiding the risk of exposure to COVID-19 by leaving the home, DHHS and NC Medicaid have developed a video and a flyer to help alleviate some of these concerns and encourage beneficiaries to talk with their doctors about using telehealth to get the care they need to stay healthy.  The video and flyer are both available on the Beneficiary COVID-19 Guidance and Resource webpage of the NC Medicaid website. These resources include the different types of services available through telehealth; how telehealth can help individuals stay healthy—especially during the COVID-19 public health emergency; technology available for telehealth; and how to ask a doctor about using telehealth in place of an office visit.

COVID-19 Case Information:  For the most current information on the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/about/index.html) and the North Carolina Division of Public Health Coronavirus call line (1-866-462-3821) or (https://epi.dph.ncdhhs.gov/cd/diseases/COVID19.html).   To access COVID-19 case information by zip code, please  visit https://www.ncdhhs.gov/divisions/public-health/covid19/covid-19-nc-case-count#zip-code-map.

COVID-19 Treatment Options: Realo Discount Drugs in Trenton and Pollocksville are now offering Paxlovid, a COVID-19 oral antiviral treatment. Information about COVID-19 treatments are available here in both English and Spanish. Oral antivirals must be started within 5 days of first COVID symptoms and require a prescription. 

Criteria for COVID-19 Testing:  Jones County Health Department is not a Primary Care Provider and does not have the capacity to routinely test for the Coronavirus (COVID-19).  We are working closely with local healthcare providers and medical centers to facilitate COVID-19 testing.  At this time, testing is most important for people that:
1) Have symptoms suggestive of COVID-19                                                        2) Are close contacts of known positive cases, regardless of symptoms                                                                                                                              3) Are in one of the following groups with higher risk of exposure or a higher risk of severe disease if they become infected (People in these groups should get tested if they believe they may have been exposed to COVID-19, whether or not they have symptoms):
• People who live in or have regular contact with high-risk settings (e.g., long-term care            facility, homeless shelter, correctional facility, migrant farmworker camp)
• Historically Marginalized populations who may be at higher risk for exposure                                                                                                           • Frontline and essential workers (grocery store clerks, gas station attendants, child care workers, construction sites, processing plants, etc.) in settings where social distancing is difficult to maintain
• Health care workers or first responders (e.g. EMS, law enforcement, fire department, military)
• People who are at high risk of severe illness (e.g., people over 65 years of age, people of any age with underlying health conditions)                                                                                                                                                             4) People who have attended protests, rallies, or other mass gatherings could have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or could have exposed others. Testing should be considered for people who attended such events, particularly if they were in crowds or other situations where they couldn’t practice effective social distancing.

If you are in one of these priority categories, and are exhibiting COVID-19 symptoms such as fever and/or symptoms of acute respiratory illness (i.e., cough or difficulty breathing), please call your regular medical provider.  If you do not have a medical provider and are not feeling well, call your nearest Federally Qualified Health Center (FQHC), found at the following website:  https://npidb.org/organizations/ambulatory_health_care/federally-qualified-health-center-fqhc_261qf0400x/nc/.   You can also call your nearest Urgent Care or Emergency Room for assistance. 

If you are not in one of the priority categories, but you have mild symptoms compatible with COVID-19 that do not progress, you do not need to be tested and should stay and recover at home.

COVID-19 Resources:  Please check out the following resource 0information to keep you and your loved ones safe and sane during uncertain times like the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19):

Triple P Tips for COVID-19 (English)                Triple P Tips for COVID-19 (Spanish)

Trillium COVID-19 Brochure (English)           Trillium COVID-19 Brochure (Spanish)

Childcare Flyer (English)                                       Childcare Flyer (Spanish)

Wash Your Hands Poster (English)                   Wash Your Hands Poster (Spanish)

Parenting Resources During COVID

Integrated Family Services (FS) Open to Public Group Flyer

You can also click on the following NC State Cooperative Extension link for resources that provide best practices for preparing for COVID-19 and managing risk for individuals at home and for food environments such as restaurants, grocery stores, food banks, gardens and farms:  https://foodsafety.ces.ncsu.edu/covid-19-resources/

Jones County Food Assistance Guide

 

"Serving the Public Health Needs of Jones County, North Carolina"