NCDHHS expands county data; reports COVID-19 clusters at schools, child care settings

The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) has expanded the COVID-19 Dashboard to include expanded county data on trends, demographics and testing. The updated dashboard also includes a new report on COVID-19 clusters in child care and school settings.

The interactive NC COVID-19 Dashboard now includes county trends over time in cases and deaths, as well as demographic information on cases and deaths by race, ethnicity, sex and age. It also displays one of the key statewide metrics by county– percent of tests that are positive. Together, these data provide a more in-depth picture of COVID-19 at the county level.  

Previously, testing data by county was not available because a large proportion of negative tests were reported manually and did not include county information. With more tests now being reported electronically with county data, there is now sufficient data to reliably share the percent positive by county.  The dashboard will also display the number of tests that are reported electronically in each county. There are limitations to the data. About a quarter of recent tests reported to North Carolina are not reported electronically, and some counties may be more likely to use a lab that reports electronically.

In addition to the expanded county data, the Department now provides a biweekly report on COVID-19 clusters in child care and school settings. A cluster is defined as both a minimum of five cases in the same facility within a 14-day period and plausible epidemiological linkage between cases.

The report includes the facility type (school or child care), county and the number of cases and deaths among staff and children. This information will be part of the Outbreaks and Clusters section of the Dashboard, which also includes cases and deaths at long-term care facilities, other congregate care settings. The first report of clusters in child care and school settings will be available on June 26th.

NCDHHS will continue to assess and provide additional data as the COVID-19 pandemic evolves and more information becomes available. The dashboard can be accessed online at covid19.ncdhhs.gov/dashboard.

For more information about North Carolina’s response to COVID-19, visit nc.gov/covid19.