William "Bill" Lee Cody
A local family felt the sorrow and pain of COVID-19 last week when a loved one died from complications associated with the virus.
The Aug. 10 death marked Clay County’s first COVID-19 related fatality.
According to a case update from the Clay County Health Department, the hospitalized individual was in the mid 60s and was a contact to a previous positive case.
The health department did not provide additional information regarding the circumstances, but offered sympathy to the family.
They also took the opportunity to remind the public to use preventive measures to help slow the spread of the virus.
Measures they recommend include washing your hands, practicing social distancing and wearing a mask.
Across the state there have been 2,396 deaths out of 146,770 confirmed cases. Of those 1,026 are currently hospitalized, according to the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. There have been 1,951,120 completed tests.
The NCDHHS breaks COVID-19 positives down by county and zip code. As of Tuesday, it shows that Hayesville accounts for 66 positives to date while Brasstown shows 15 and Warne, 5. Brasstown includes those in Clay and Cherokee counties. The Clay County Health Department emphasized that if anyone thinks they may have been exposed to COVID-19 or is exhibiting signs and symptoms of the virus to call the clinic, (828) 389-8052 to “ensure proper testing protocol is initiated.