— from Brendan Cowan, Department of Emergency Management —
San Juan County Health and Community Services staff have been notified of a second positive COVID-19 test result on San Juan Island and a third on Orcas Island. This brings the total number of cases in San Juan County to six.
The County data reporting page will be updated at the end of the day, 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 staff member at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center in Friday Harbor. The PeaceHealth Infection Prevention Team is actively working to identify, contact, and inform all who may have potentially been exposed.
According to Peace Health Peace Island Medical Center Chief Administrative Officer Merry-Ann Keane, “We are working closely with County Health Officer Dr. Frank James and our staff are coordinating with and following the guidance of the County public health team in an effort to limit the impact of this situation.”
Dr. James further explained, “Our team is monitoring this situation closely and supporting the hospital with all of the resources we can. I want to remind residents that though the islands have been doing everything right and people have been taking this situation seriously, these new cases are a warning that the next couple of weeks will be critical in determining how well we weather this storm. Kids, businesses, individuals, organizations… everyone needs to do everything they can to minimize all contact between individuals who are not already living together.”
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.
“Everyone needs to do everything they can to minimize all contact between individuals who are not already living together.”
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 at www.sjccovid.com. 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 Monday – Friday 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.
Thank you for the update Brendan. My heart goes out to all those who have tested positive, and of those to come in the future. I wish them only the best. Also my heart-felt gratitude to all of the medical personnel, and the support people in our communities during this difficult time.
For those who are not taking this seriously (i.e. people who are not self-isolating, and to those businesses and transient rentals that continue to operate outside the parameters of both the Governor’s proclamation and the local Health Director’s resolution 2020-1)– we see you, we know who you are… you are endangering the lives of others. It’s time to shut it down.
Question– Your choice of phrasing eludes me. When you state, “The new positive test result on San Juan Island was reported for a staff member at PeaceHealth Peace Island Medical Center in Friday Harbor.”
Are you saying that the positive case on San Juan was a staff member at the hospital, or? I hope not. Thank you.
I don’t understand, and have not understood, why people are not being urged to “mask up.” I’m not talking n95 masks for healthy people or asymptomatic people; our health workers need those. i’m talking prevention of spread by using face covering, out of consideration to others.
Home-made masks (or even a scarf of bandanna) when we go out in public seems the responsible way to help contain chance of spread without knowing it. Why aren’t we being encouraged by the CDC, the media, and health depts to do it?
I too was confused by the article – the language was unclear but what I got from it was that a Peace Health worker has ccontracted covid -19. My thoughts are with that person and all others close to that person. a
What I find totally baffling is why people have to be told by some questionable state entity to protect themselves?! When has the concern EVER been about what is truly beneficial to the multitude?! It’s about controlling the narrative. Period.
Use common sense! Mask up! Protect yourselves and your neighbors!
If I consider where and how an introvert like me can contribute her best to a healthy response to these difficulties, I turn my focus to cool science information and my local environment responsibility. I am trying to skip the narrative, as a personal choice.