PRESS RELEASE FROM RIPLEY COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT:
The Ripley County Health Department has received confirmation of multiple Ripley County residents that have tested positive for the COVID-19. It is important to note that some of these patients have recovered while others are terminally ill. David J. Welsh, MD, the Ripley County Health Officer, has set forth guidance to the public on how to stay healthy and protect the public during this time.
What happens when someone is to be found positive for COVID-19? Those individuals MUST follow health instructions provided from their Health Care Provider based on their circumstance.
If you have been contacted that you or an immediate family member has been in direct contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, it is important for your family to remain in self isolation for 14 days after the date given. During these 14 days, watch for symptoms of COVID-19. Symptoms reported include: cough, aches, sore throat, chills, fatigue, headaches, nausea, or fever. Not all symptoms must be present to have COVID-19. If a person becomes symptomatic, it is important to remain in self-isolation and contact your primary care physician unless immediate medical attention is needed. If it is a life-threatening emergency, and you contact 911, IMMEDIATELY upon calling, notify the 911 dispatcher of your case. Similarly, in the instance of an essential service required at your place of residence during this quarantine period, notify the service company of your status.
The Ripley County Health Department will be contacting positive cases to obtain a recent contact list. Patient specific instructions will be given. If you have been contacted that you have had close contact with a positive case and are symptomatic, please seek medical attention and notify them of your status PRIOR to arriving.
New cases are coming in daily. The Ripley County Health Department will continue to provide updates to the community. The Ripley County Health Department is working with local and state officials to ensure that contacts of the patients are identified and monitored and that all infection control protocols are being followed.
The Ripley County Health Department would like to remind all citizens to practice public health precautions of social distancing, avoid mass gatherings, only go out for essential travel, and to wash hands frequently.
For a continuous update on confirmed patients, please refer to our Facebook page, website, and Twitter page.
The Ripley County Health Department will be pinning a post that will be ongoing with public information. As a reminder, COVID-19 is not isolated to one specific jurisdiction and is prevalent throughout the entire county, state, nation and globally.
Visit the Ripley County Health Department website at https://www.ripleyhealth.com/covid-19, the ISDH website at www.in.gov/coronavirus and the CDC website at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html for the most up-to-date information on COVID-19
