HICKORY, N.C. — A family gathering, where no one wore masks or maintained social distance, led to 41 people testing positive for COVID-19, according to Catawba County Public Health.
County health experts said 14 people who tested positive at the gathering didn't know they had the virus for several days.
Public Health Director, Jennifer McCracken said by the time those people developed symptoms, they were already working or taking a beach trip with other families.
She said over 16 days, 41 people in nine different families and eight different workplaces tested positive for COVID-19.
"We just felt like a visual description of what we're seeing related to the spread of COVID-19 would be helpful for the community to better understand how quickly the virus can spread from person to person," McCracken said about publicizing this case study.
This particular situation came as the county recorded a spike in coronavirus cases.
The county recorded 28 more people who tested positive on Thursday leading to a total of 1,109 cases.
McCracken said the case shows the importance of wearing a mask in public, keeping socially distant from others and washing hands.
"Those small things make a huge impact when it comes to preventing the spread of COVID-19 in our community and helping us get back to normal," McCracken said.
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