RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – Every county in North Carolina is colored red on the latest federal map of COVID-19 transmission levels.
Avery County in the western mountains was final county colored orange Tuesday morning on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s map.
It was changed to red Tuesday afternoon.
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The map measures the level of community transmission and is based on data from Aug. 9 through Sunday.
Red signifies the highest level of transmission. Orange is one step down, meaning the transmission level is substantial.
The map grew redder across the state last week, with every county but two — Northampton and Camden — shaded red. Avery County was one of those red counties.
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Every county in the neighboring states of South Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia are also shaded red.
The CDC map relies on two key measures — how many new cases per capita a county had during the last week and the percentage of tests found to be positive.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services data shows Avery County had one of the state’s lowest per capita counts of new cases during the past two weeks with only 24 new cases for every 10,000 residents. Camden County (21) was the only one lower.
