East Carolina University in Greenville is taking part in a statewide survey to learn more about how coronavirus spreads. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced the partnership in April, which includes researchers from ECU, UNC-Chapel Hill, Duke University, and the North Carolina Division of Public Health.
Researchers want to better understand the percentage of people that have mild to no symptoms of COVID-19. The team will focus on virus trends in Cabarrus, Chatham, and Pitt counties and observe how the virus affects physical and mental health, family, economy, and other factors.
"And it does let us understand are their differences between how this is impacting more rural parts of the state, geographically different parts of the state," said Dr. Aaron Kipp, an epidemiologist and assistant professor in the Department of Public Health at ECU. "It's vital that ECU is a part of this and that Pitt County is involved."
Kipp said the initial phase of the study includes an online public survey, which will be available in a few weeks. The second phase involves monitoring participants over several months to understand the spread of the virus.
