COVID-19 UPDATE 

Catawba County was notified of 50 new Covid-19 cases Tuesday as the

cumulative total for the County climbed to 3 thousand 6 hundred and 81.  3

thousand and 43 of those patients have recovered and 21 patients are currently

hospitalized.  Burke County reported 2 thousand 6 hundred and 96 cumulative

cases yesterday with 9 patients hospitalized.  2 thousand 2 hundred and 47

patients have recovered.  McDowell County reported 19 new Covid-19 cases

Tuesday for a cumulative total of 1 thousand and 66 patients.  9 hundred 28

patient are out of quarantine.  And Caldwell County had an increase of 9 Covid 19

cases yesterday for a total of 2 thousand and 12 cases.  1 thousand 1 hundred 88

patients have recovered and 9 are hospitalized.

Shooting in Conover

A shooting in Conover remains under investigation today.  A man, at a residence

on 1^st Avenue South in Conover, was shot in the face and taken to the hospital by

a private car.  The residence was near Conover School, which was placed under a

temporary lockdown during the investigation.  Officers are trying to determine

what happened.

Mobile Home Damaged

A mobile home in Catawba County was heavily damaged yesterday as a pickup

truck slammed into it.  No one inside the home at the time of the accident

that happened off Kool Park Road was injured.  The driver of the vehicle was

taken to an area hospital.  A medical issue was thought to

have caused  the accident, but  no official word on the cause of the accident has

been released.

Caldwell EMS Involved in Accident

A Caldwell County ambulance, transporting a patient by emergency traffic to an

area hospital, was involved in a motor vehicle accident Monday night around

8:45.  The EMS vehicle was hit at the intersection of Hickory Boulevard and

Pinewood Road in Granite Falls.  2 EMS technicians and a patient were on board

the vehicle.  3 people were transported to the hospital with injuries that varied

from minor to moderate.  Two of those transported were EMS personnel.  Both

EMS workers have been released from the hospital, while the driver of the

transfer truck and the driver of the passenger truck declined treatment at the

scene.

Proposed Merger

Two hospice organizations are exploring the possibility of becoming

one organization. The boards of directors have approved the decision

for Burke Hospice and Palliative Care and Caldwell Hospice and Palliative

Care to integrate. A timeline has yet to be finalized but the legal

partnership is expected to occur in 2021. A new name would be announced

for the group should the two providers combine into one. According

to a press release, there are no plans to close any of the locations and

infrastructure details are still being determined.