Five additional Cattaraugus County residents have tested positive for COVID-19, county health officials said Monday.
That brings the total number of county residents with confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis since early March to 224. Six county residents have died from COVID-19.
County health department staff are now following nine active coronavirus cases. There were 80 people in quarantine and 70 more in precautionary quarantine, mostly those who visited states with high rates of coronavirus.
The 220th confirmed case is a female resident of the southeast part of the county. She is a healthcare worker who reports being in direct contact with a positive COVID-19 person. She developed fever, cough, congestion, runny nose, headaches and muscle aches. She was given a rapid test for COVID-19 on Monday and her test results indicated that she was positive for the virus.
The 221st confirmed case is a male resident of the southeast part of the county, who has no significant travel history. He is a healthcare worker who reports being in direct contact with a positive COVID-19 person. He developed fever, cough, congestion, headaches and muscle aches. He was given a rapid test for COVID-19 on Monday and his test results indicated that he was positive for the virus.
The 222nd confirmed case is a female resident of the southeast part of the county, who has no significant travel history. She is a healthcare worker who reports being in direct contact with a positive COVID-19 person. She developed a sore throat, and congestion. She was tested for COVID-19 on Friday and her test results on Monday indicated that she was positive for the virus.
The 223rd confirmed case is a female resident of the northeast part of the county, who has no significant travel history and denies any contact with a positive COVID-19 person. A healthcare worker, she developed fever, chills, nausea, headaches, muscle aches and loss of taste and smell. She was given a rapid test for COVID-19 on Monday and her test results indicated that she was positive for the virus.
The 224th confirmed case is a male resident of the southeast part of the county, who has no significant travel history. He was in direct contact with a positive COVID-19 person but reports being asymptomatic. He was given a rapid test for COVID-19 on Monday and his test results indicated that he was positive for the virus.
Public Health Director Dr. Kevin D. Watkins said the department has begun thorough contact tracing investigations for those individuals that they have been in contact with and the places that they have visited.
“We would like to reiterate that if any resident experiences fever, cough, shortness of breath or whole body aches they should contact their health care provider,” Watkins said. He advised against going directly to an urgent care facility, or hospital emergency Room before calling.
“In addition,” he said, “wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This is especially important after using the bathroom, coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose. If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains a minimum of 60% alcohol.”
Watkins advised residents to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, especially with unwashed hands.
Disinfect commonly touched surfaces with a cleaner that is approved by the EPA against COVID-19.
Finally, in an effort to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 in our community, any resident interested in getting tested, can register for a test at www.cattco.org/covid-19-test or call 938-9119 or 938-2265.
