By Powder River County Health Nurse Darlynn Williams
Powder River County Public Health is investigating the second positive case of COVID-19 in the county. (Edit: The second case is no longer active, as of August 25th).
A Powder River community member presented with symptoms consistent with COVID-19 and testing revealed a confirmed positive.
Powder River Public Health is in the process of contact tracing and will notify anyone identified as being a contact. A contact is defined as anyone who been within 6 feet for longer than 15 minutes with a positive COVID patient. This includes the 2 days prior to symptoms appearing.
In this particular case, mild symptoms began on August 16, 2020. Public Health has identified and is in the process of contacting individuals whom have had close contact starting August 14th.
Currently Public Health has identified (8) close contacts and is in the process of contacting those individuals. As we move forward, it is likely we will have more contacts as we gain more information. It is also possible to have additional cases stemming out from this case.
No information is currently available as to where this case originated from but travel to other areas within the State has been noted.
As a reminder: Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department. Isolation is used to separate people infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, from people who are not infected. People who are in isolation should stay home until it’s safe for them to be around others. In the home, anyone sick or infected should separate themselves from others by staying in a specific “sick room” or area and using a separate bathroom (if available).
People who have tested positive for COVID-19 do not need to quarantine or get tested again for up to 3 months as long as they do not develop symptoms again. People who develop symptoms again within 3 months of their first bout of COVID-19 may need to be tested again if there is no other cause identified for their symptoms.
This serves as a reminder to not let your guard down. Continue to follow the guidelines of physical distancing, hand washing, cough/sneeze etiquette, wear a mask and stay home when you are ill. Often, those who test positive have symptoms that are attributed to an illness other than COVID-19. Please stay at home if you are sick for any reason.
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