The Indiana State Department of Health notified North Carolina officials that a person who tested positive for COVID-19 on March 8 was in Durham and Wake counties on March 2 through March 6 while symptomatic. The person is in isolation at home in Indiana.
The Durham County Department of Public Health and the Wake County Public Health Division will work to identify close contacts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines close contact as being within approximately 6 feet of a person with a COVID-19 infection for a prolonged period of time of 10 minutes or longer. Based on information provided by the individual, county health leaders will assess risks of exposure, determine which if any additional measures are needed such as temperature and symptom checks, quarantine and/or testing.
Because COVID-19 is most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, North Carolinians should take the same measures that health care providers recommend to prevent the spread of the flu and other viruses, including washing your hands, avoiding touching your face, staying home if you are sick and covering coughs and sneezes with your elbow.
The CDC defines risk categories for exposure during contact investigations of confirmed cases as follows:
| Risk Level | Exposures Identified through Contact Investigation |
|---|---|
| High | Living in the same household as, being an intimate partner of, or providing care in a nonhealthcare setting (such as a home) for a person with symptomatic laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection without using recommended precautions for home care and home isolation. |
| Medium (assumes no exposures in the high-risk category) |
|
| Low (assumes no exposures in the high-risk category) | Being in the same indoor environment (e.g., a classroom, a hospital waiting room) as a person with symptomatic laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 for a prolonged period of time but not meeting the definition of close contact. |
| No identifiable risk | Interactions with a person with symptomatic laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection that do not meet any of the high-, medium- or low-risk conditions above, such as walking by the person or being briefly in the same room. |