On Tuesday, the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services listed Wilkes with no new reported COVID-19 cases in the seven days ending March 20.

COVID-19 deaths of Wilkes County residents continue to steadily increase while new confirmed cases drop.

The number of new COVID-19 cases reported in Wilkes County are still slowly dropping from the point where they spiked recently, according to updates from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services.

Updates to COVID-19 protocols in the Wilkes County Schools are on the agenda for a special called meeting of the Wilkes Board of Education Tuesday night.

COVID-19 deaths of Wilkes County residents spiked in late January, including 11 reported Monday by the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Wilkes County Health Director Rachel Willard said Tuesday that seven Wilkes County residents have died from causes related to COVID-19 since Jan. 20.

Wilkes County’s COVID-19 case count (confirmed cases since the pandemic began) was 14,115 on Tuesday, up from 13,568 when that information was last available from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services on Jan. 14.

Wilkes County Health Director Rachel Willard provided an update on when students and staff in public schools must quarantine due to COVID-19 during the Jan. 10 Wilkes Board of Education meeting.

The omicron variant surge could peak this week in northwestern North Carolina, said an infectious disease expert at Atrium Heath Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem on Jan. 13.

Wilkes County and North Carolina saw record daily increases in COVID-19 cases due to an omicron strain-based surge the first week of 2022, with little relief expected this week.

People are inappropriately coming to hospital emergency rooms for COVID-19 tests and causing longer waits in facilities that already were crowded, stated a press release jointly issued by Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Cone Health and Novant Health.

An infectious disease expert at Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist in Winston-Salem said dominance of the omicron variant and COVID-19 case totals will increase through January and make this period of the pandemic more difficult.

Wilkes County ended 2021 and started 2022 in a surge of new COVID-19 cases.

The Wilkes County Health Department reported that as of Monday, 11,603 Wilkes residents had tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

Wilkes remains among counties with high COVID-19 transmission levels due to the delta variant, but health experts expect the largest surge of cases yet statewide from a newer variant starting in January.

A majority of the Wilkes County school board members voted Monday night to continue a mask mandate for the upcoming month, despite facing opposition in the meeting.

After remaining unchanged at 188 since Nov. 17, the number of reported COVID-19-related deaths in Wilkes County increased to 192 on Dec. 2 and to 194 on Dec. 3.

Wilkes County Health Director Rachel Willard spoke to the Wilkes County commissioners about the recent increase in COVID-19 cases in Wilkes during the board’s Nov. 16 meeting.

Wilkes County had a 10.16% positivity rate on COVID-19 testing for the period Nov. 6-12, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website.

As of Tuesday, 10,698 Wilkes County residents had tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. That was up from 10,686 on Monday.

By a 3-2 vote Monday night, the Wilkes Board of Education approved continuing a mask mandate in place in schools since Aug. 31 at least through the end of November.

The Wilkes County Board of Education voted 3-2 Monday night to continue requiring that students and everyone else wear masks while indoors on school grounds after voting 4-1 for this during their Sept. 6 meeting.

The Wilkes County Health Department will offer booster shots of the Pfizer-COVID-19 vaccine to eligible people in a mass clinic from 8 a.m. to noon Friday at Lowe’s Park at River’s Edge in Wilkesboro.

Four Wilkes County residents with COVID-19 died at Wilkes Medical Center this past weekend, bringing the county’s official death total from the virus to 160.

The Brushy Mountain Ruritan Club issued a press release Monday evening stating “with deep regret” that the Brushy Mountain Apple Festival has been canceled for the second year in a row to avoid health risks posed by COVID-19.

Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist, Cone Health and Novant Health hospitals in the region report a surge in recent weeks of patients hospitalized with COVID-19, very similar to a surge earlier this year before vaccines became widely available

Younger Wilkes residents are accounting for a larger share of the county’s active COVID-19 cases, said Wilkes County Health Director Rachel Willard.

Scheduling of an emergency meeting of the Wilkes Board of Education at 5:30 p.m. Monday was announced late Sunday afternoon.

The West Wilkes varsity football teams are the latest Wilkes County prep sports squads placed on COVID-19 quarantine protocol after several positive cases forced the cancelation of Friday's football game against Elkin in Millers Creek.

Dr. Chi Huang of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist said he wants people to understand the worsening threat posed by COVID-19, especially in counties like Wilkes with low vaccination rates, inconsistent masking and rapidly rising hospital admissions of patients with the virus.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a larger percentage increase in homeschooling statewide than in Wilkes County, according to data from the N.C. Department of Public Administration.

Masks will be optional for students and staff in the Wilkes schools in the upcoming academic year as long as the county threshold of positive cases for students stays below recommended levels, announced Superintendent Mark Bryd in the school board meeting Monday night.

Reports from the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) indicate a rise in COVID-19 cases in Wilkes County.

The Wilkes Health Department announced a schedule of community COVID-19 vaccination clinics.

The Wilkes County Health Department reported that as of Monday, 6,942 Wilkes County residents had tested positive for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. The total was 6,949 by Wednesday.

Visitation policies at Wake Forest Baptist Health, Wilkes Medical Center and all other Wake Baptist locations have been updated, effective June 9.

The Wilkes County Health Department has announced a schedule of Pfizer vaccination clinics at public high schools as part of an effort to get more young people vaccinated before the 2021-22 school year starts.

Tyson Foods Inc. said one of its first seven “Bright Blue” health centers, designed to provide Tyson employees and their families easier access to quality healthcare, opens May 19 at 1600 River Street in Wilkesboro.

By Friday, 6,618 Wilkes residents had been diagnosed with COVID-19 since the pandemic began.

The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) reported that 21.7% (14,857 people) of Wilkes residents were fully vaccinated for COVID-19 as of Monday.

Wilkes Health Department Director Rachel Willard said Friday that Wilkes County’s response to COVID-19 vaccinations remains at best at a plateau, prompting consideration of ending her department’s drive-through vaccination clinics.

Wilkes County Health Director Rachel Willard said COVID-19 vaccinations in Wilkes have leveled off, despite the local health department’s decision to make them available to everyone age 16 and older about two weeks ago.