First two patients testing positive from ‘Central Valley’
OKANOGAN – Okanogan County Public Health announced that four more people as of today, April 23, have been confirmed to have COVID-19, bringing the total to 18 in Okanogan County.
Public Health made the announcement at 5 p.m. today. Of the 18 confirmed cases two are from the Central Valley and are the first cases confirmed from that part of the county. Of those that tested positive, Public Health says 13 are recovering. Nine of the cases are reported on the Colville Reservation, up two from the previous update; five are from the Methow Valley, one from South County (Pateros to Malott), two from Central Valley (Malott to Riverside) and one from North County (Riverside to Oroville).
A total of 489 samples of people living in the county have been sent for testing, with 428 of those samples coming back as negative. There are still 43 tests pending results.
“Okanogan County Public Health is reporting four new cases today. We were made aware of two of these cases yesterday after we had sent our update prior to the Governor’s news conference,” reads a statement from the county health agency. “Public Health, in conjunction with the Colville Tribes, is investigating these additional cases and will be notifying any potential contacts.”
“Recovering cases are defined as most symptoms have subsided and the individual is no longer at risk of worsening illness. While a few cases have recovered completely, many are still recovering and continue to have residual symptoms such as fatigue,” said the health agency.
Further information from Public Health:
Continued Social Distancing is Imperative
We cannot stress enough how important it is to follow the Governor’s Stay Home, Stay Healthy order and to follow continued social distancing recommendations. As we have reported in the past, due to specific testing criteria and limited testing supplies we believe COVID-19 is much more widespread in our County than our confirmed case counts suggest.
While most people recover without complications, high risk populations are much more likely to experience sever illness or death. We are also hearing reports of high numbers of asymptomatic contagious carriers. This means there may be many people out there who feel completely fine, but are infected with the virus and are able to spread it to others. The people they spread it to may not be so lucky to be asymptomatic and could have serious illness.
We must remain vigilant and disciplined to protect our vulnerable populations.
Washington’s Recovery Plan
Yesterday, Governor Inslee shared his plan for Safe Return to Public Life in Washington State. “The return to public life will occur in measured steps, guided by science and informed by our public health needs, ability to mitigate impacts, and the response of our communities.” View the full plan at: https://bit.ly/34XQi8p.
Stay Home, Stay Healthy!
State Department of Health Call Center 1-800-525-0127 Press # after the prompt
Education & Information www.doh.wa.gov/emergencies/coronavirus
Okanogan County Alerts Sign up for alerts like these from Emergency Management at: https://www.okanogandem.org
