BUCYRUS — With the spread of COVID-19 now entering Crawford County and its neighboring counties, Crawford County Public Health want you to know that now more than ever, it is important for people to stay home.
As of Thursday, Crawford County and every bordering county with the exception of Morrow, have had at least one confirmed case of COVID-19 and the spread is continuing,
Crawford County Public Health Commissioner Kate Siefert said public health nurses are working on contact tracing, which is notifying every person who came into contact with a confirmed case during the past 14 days. She said the contact tracing already has crossed county lines.
“Of course, it’s not staying within county lines, because people don’t,” Siefert said.
She said, once there is a confirmed case, a list is made of people a confirmed case came into contact with during the past 14 days, including anyone in other counties. Those contacts are then questioned about symptoms and must take his or her temperature every morning and evening for the next 14 days and report it to the public health nurses.
That person is also quarantined for 14 days from the day they came in contact with the confirmed COVID-19 patient.
Those contacted by public health nurses will be asked if they have any symptoms including sore throat, headache, cough, fever, shortness of breath, nasal congestion or gastral intestinal illness. If yes, they will be encouraged to contact their personal physician and identify themselves as being under quarantine for being in contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case.
Once a contact indicates they have symptoms, they are then questioned on who they were in contact with during the past 14 days, and the cycle again begins.
“You can start to see how huge the spiderweb of contacts starts to become,” Siefert said. “This is why it is extremely important for everyone to stay home, limit their contact with others, and stop the spread.”
Even though things like going to the store or attending medical appointments are allowed under the Stay-at-Home Order made by the Ohio Department of Health, Siefert said she has concern about people that conduct those tasks with little-to-no urgency and use those outings to socialize with others.
“Again, I cannot reiterate it enough for everyone to stay home if they do not have to be out in the community,” Siefert said. “It greatly increases the risk of being in contact with someone with COVID-19 or even being a contact of a contact, which then makes that person part of the process.”
As of March 25, at 2 p.m., 55 counties in Ohio have at least one confirmed case of COVID-19.