The Department of Health & Human Services Public Health Branch recently announced the first confirmed case of novel coronavirus in Humboldt County. The ill individual and close contact continue to do well and are self-isolating at home while being monitored for symptoms by the Public Health Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control Unit.
There have been many questions asked in the past 24 hours about isolation, quarantine, symptoms and risk. We hope the information below is helpful.
What does “isolation” mean? When individuals show signs and symptoms of illness, or test positive for COVID-19, but do not require hospital care, they are placed on home-isolation. They monitor their temperature twice daily and also monitor for symptoms. Public Health is in contact with these individuals at least once a day. Home-isolated individuals are instructed to contact Public Health or their health care provider if they have any worsening of their symptoms before accessing medical care so that they can be managed safely in the health care setting. While in isolation, they are able to leave their home only for medical care.
What does “quarantine” mean? When individuals are not currently symptomatic, but have risk factors for developing COVID-19 (such as travel to China or close contact with a confirmed case), Public Health works with the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and determines the appropriate level of monitoring for their level of risk. All individuals monitor for fever and other symptoms. If they develop either, they contact Public Health or their medical provider before accessing care so that they may be safely managed in the health care setting.
What are the symptoms of COVID-19? As with many other respiratory viruses, including influenza, the symptoms of COVID-19 infection are:
- Fever (100.4 F or higher)
- Cough
- Shortness of breath.
Public Health wants you to know:
- Community members are being contacted if they are a close contact of a confirmed case
- The ill individuals have not been circulating in our community while infectious
- According to CDC, there is currently no evidence of community-level transmission occurring in the U.S. This means that only individuals who have traveled to China or have been close contacts of a confirmed case are at higher risk of illness. These individuals are then being monitored by Public Health.
For more information about COVID-19, please call Public Health during normal business hours at 707-445-6200, or visit Humboldt Health Alert at www.humboldtgov.org/HumboldtHealthAlert.
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