Public Health continues to monitor COVID-19 in Washington County

WASHINGTON - Local public health departments have been monitoring the COVID-19 situation since early March and are hard at work ensuring the public has the latest information.

Washington County Public Health Director Danielle Pettit-Majewski said the first cases in Iowa were discovered March 9 after residents returned from a cruise. Since that date, public health officials began monitoring the situation, checking in with the patients daily.

'It has kind of been a shifting workload to be able to sustain it,” she said.

The first confirmed case in Washington County came March 25 and with a few minor exceptions, there have been anywhere from zero to 14 cases confirmed in a day.

When a case is confirmed, Pettit-Majewski said public health officials will speak with the patients care provider to ensure they are aware of their diagnoses.

'Most people don't want somebody that they don't know calling them and asking about their protected health information,” she said.

During the interview with public health, the patient is asked a series of questions including what symptoms they have and when they began. This processes helped the department determine that symptoms did not just include headache, fever and shortness of breathe as initially thought.

Body aches, vomiting, loss of smell and taste along with a slew of other symptoms were soon discovered as possibly being tells the person was infected with COVID-19.

'Some people present very differently,” she said, adding symptoms can even vary even in those who are in the same home. 'It's that surveillance and that work that we do that helps us make bigger decisions and help us figure out what we need to be doing.”

If a case is confirmed, public health will interview everyone in the home about their symptoms. Anyone who is experiencing any will be treated as a positive, epilinked case.

This means they have the symptoms of COVID-19 and are related to someone who also has it, she said. This information is used for additional research.

These efforts have worked in helping to flatten the curve, she said, but we are not clear as of yet. The date for the peak of the virus has been pushed back multiple times meaning the curve is slowly flattening but will still hit hard.

However, continuing social distancing measures is most important for keeping the community safe as the department continues to monitor the virus, she said.