Three new cases on Orcas
— from Brendan Cowan, Department of Emergency Management —
San Juan County Health and Community Services staff have been notified of four new positive COVID-19 test results in San Juan County, including one on San Juan Island and three on Orcas Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to ten. The County data reporting page will be updated at the end of the day on Monday, once all of the test results and numbers from all local healthcare providers are available and updated.
The new positive test result on San Juan Island was reported for a provider at San Juan Island EMS. However, after extensive public health investigation with the County surveillance team and San Juan Island EMS leadership, there appears to be very limited exposure risk to the public or other agency members.
According to San Juan Island EMS Interim Chief Karl Kuetzing, “We are working closely with San Juan County. Both EMS and the County Health Department are confident that there has been little to no contact with the general public or members of the EMS team during the period of time when the patient may have been infectious. We will continue to monitor the situation and will provide clear information as needed to the community.”
One of the cases on Orcas is of a close household contact of a previous positive. The other two cases are still under
investigation.
Residents of all islands should be working off the assumption that the illness is present in their community. Aggressive efforts to ensure hygiene, to limit social contact, and to remove any opportunity for disease transmission are essential.
San Juan County health officials remind everyone that if you feel sick and have mild symptoms, stay home. If you feel you have more serious symptoms or if you are at risk for severe illness, stay home and call your health provider. Do not go directly to a clinic or to the hospital. Follow your doctor or health provider’s direction. If you feel the situation is urgent and life threatening, call 911.
For more information and if you have access to the internet, please visit our informational webpage.
You can also visit the San Juan County Health and Community Services Facebook page. The San Juan County COVID-19
Hotline (360-370-7500) is staffed M-F 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m, and the State of WA Hotline (800-525-0127) is staffed from
6 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. For more information about contact tracing, see this recent article.
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Six cases for Orcas Island, with 4500 year-round population, that’s 133 per 100,000, on par with King County. Unless there are more people here who have come from the mainland, which would reduce this number.
Skagit County is currently at 130 cases per 100,000 and Whatcom at 92. All in the same ballpark.
It may be “in the ballpark,” but be reminded the places you’re comparing it too are considered hotspots… their numbers are among the highest in the nation. The reality is that with only a minimal amount of testing San Juan County has now gone from 1 to 10 cases in just two weeks… with the numbers so far tripling every week.
Be safe– treat everyone as if they have it, (and help those that do). Stay at home if you can. Social isolation, and social distancing are the rule of the day.
Thanks, Michael. That was my point, made implicitly.
I strongly suspect that the current population on Orcas is well above 4500, as people with second homes here fled Seattle etc. over the past few weeks.