LCHD COVID contact tracing starts with confirmed cases

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(The following is a release from the Lee County Health Department printed in its entirety.)

LEE COUNTY - Lee County residents should rest assured that when LCHD receives notice of a positive lab-confirmed case of COVID-19, trained contact tracers will start an investigation to determine exposure risks with other individuals. This involves completing an extensive interview with the person who tested positive. The interview includes questions related to travel history, work history, health care visits and hospitalization, questions about symptoms and when they started, contacts they may have had with other known positive cases, history of any group gatherings or clusters of people, and identification of household and close contacts. Based on the interview results, additional people may be contacted and provided additional instructions for isolation.

Persons with symptoms of COVID-19 should self-isolate (regardless of whether they were tested for COVID-19) until after these three things have happened:
• They have had no fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers) AND
• Their other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath has improved) AND
• At least 10 days have passed since their symptoms first appeared (CDC recently revised from 7 days to 10 days)

Persons who test positive for COVID-19 but do not experience symptoms should self-isolate until:
• At least 10 days have passed since the date of the first positive test AND
• They continue to have no symptoms (no cough or shortness of breath) since the test.

Everyone in Lee County, including visitors, should know that COVID-19 is circulating widely. A person’s chance of being exposed to the virus is high, regardless of contact with a known confirmed case. This is why ALL individuals are asked to do their part and protect themselves and others. Stay home as much you can when possible; practice social distancing staying 6-feet away from other individuals when outside your home; avoid groups of people; consider wearing a cloth face covering to protect others in case you are infected with COVID-19 and have no symptoms, or have not yet developed symptoms, and wash your hands frequently.

The CDC Guidance for “What to do if you are sick”:
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/if-you-are-sick/steps-when-sick.html has additional information.

Visit the Lee County Health Department website, www.leecountyhd.org, and their Facebook page for continued information related to COVID-19.

Contact tracing, LCHD, Lee County Health Department, Pen City Current, processes

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