— from Brendan Cowan, Department of Emergency Management —
June 21, 2020: San Juan County Health and Community Services staff have been notified of a new positive COVID-19 test result in San Juan County, from a resident of Lopez Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to 18.
This is the first confirmed case on Lopez Island since April 1. The County Health & Community Service Department’s surveillance team is actively investigating and contact tracing this case.
County Health Officer Dr. Frank James details the situation, “As with the other two recent cases in the islands, our team is working diligently to identify and contact anyone who may have had close contact with the patient. An aggressive effort to quarantine and test those contacts are our best tools to limit wider spread.”
Dr. James continues, “Residents need to be vigilant about their basic precautions. They need to be thoughtful about mainland travel and engaging in close prolonged contact with family, friends, or other
visitors from the mainland. And we need to be over-the-top diligent with our hand washing, face covering, and social distancing. Now is not the time to relax our efforts. In all likelihood the disease will be with us for many months to come. This disease is not spread via casual proximity to an infected person, especially if we all cover our faces in public spaces where social distancing is not possible.
Transmission requires close contact. Outdoor socializing is many times safer than indoor. Riding in cars together is high risk. We all need to be thoughtful about the frequency of our collective interactions outside of our household groups. We need to understand that our decisions matter.”
Anyone in San Juan County who is notified by their health care provider of a positive test result, or who has had close contact with someone with a confirmed positive test result is asked to contact 360-370-7532 as a precaution to ensure rapid response.
San Juan County health officials remind everyone that if you have symptoms of COVID (including a fever or chills, cough, shortness of breath, new loss of taste or smell, nausea, sore throat, or diarrhea), please
contact your medical provider immediately to discuss being tested, regardless of the severity of your symptoms.
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