MONROE – Union County Public Health announced July 7 that 16 people who tested positive for COVID-19 attended the Marvin Ridge High School graduation. A portion of them attended graduation-related gatherings.
Union County Public Schools chose to hold high school graduations despite Gov. Roy Cooper’s restrictions on mass gatherings.
A second cluster has been identified at East Union Middle School involving five staff members who were working together.
The county says the possibility exists of additional people who have not developed symptoms yet or who may be positive and asymptomatic.
Contact with a positive COVID-19 individual is the highest transmission method within Union County, accounting for 43% of total cases as of July 7, according to the county.
The county has reported 1,528 cases, including 25 deaths, with least 764 are no longer being monitored.