The mission of the Iredell County Health Department is to protect the personal, community, and environmental health of Iredell County residents, the release from the county states.

"We have been working with community healthcare partners for several months to prepare for a potential case in order to properly detect and prevent the spread of this communicable disease," it states. "Due to the increasing emergence of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in NC, we want to assist our community in taking proactive steps to protect their health by sharing recommendations from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) meant to slow the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak and reduce the number of people infected. We ask that our community remain calm and continue to follow health guidelines from the state and CDC that are being regularly updated" on the health department website.

Because COVID-19 is most commonly spread through respiratory droplets, residents should take the same measures recommend annually to prevent the spread of the flu and other viruses:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, especially after going to the bathroom; before eating; and after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.