Submitted by San Juan County
Two new positive COVID test results have been reported for San Juan County. One each on Orcas and San Juan. The total case count for the islands is now 49. Both cases are close contacts of previous cases.
It really isn’t too late to get our arms around this. Truly. We’re fed up, but if we change our behavior we can stop this recent surge of island cases. There is hope on the horizon (vaccines, better treatments, etc.), but first, we need to get this under control.
Important things to know:
• Future case updates will be provided weekly on Friday unless situations occur that pose an immediate widespread threat to public health or are especially noteworthy or unexpected. Case counts will continue to be updated daily at https://www.sanjuanco.com/1682/COVID-19-SJC-Case-Count.
• All islanders should assume that there are asymptomatic infectious individuals in our community.
• Public Health staff are literally working around the clock to investigate each case, quickly notify all close contacts, and ensure testing, isolation, and quarantine procedures are followed. The more close contacts each of us have, the more difficult that work is, and the more likely it is a case spreads.
• As has always been the case, most cases appear to be directly caused by close indoor contact with non-household members or extended travel off-island.
PLEASE:
• Shrink our bubbles. No more indoor social contact outside of our households.
• Don’t shame or blame those who test positive. It can happen to anyone. Empathy is key. -Ensure island businesses, non-profits, and other organizations are following face covering and social distancing to the full extent possible. Owners, customers, and employees need to insist on it.
• Stay close to home. If you travel and have close interaction with others while indoors and unmasked, quarantine for at least seven days after you return, ideally 14.
• Mask up.
We will continue to provide weekly updates not only of new cases, but also as the situation (hopefully) improves, cases lessen, and the number of islanders in quarantine diminishes.
