Updated (03/26/2020): First COVID-19 Death and Additional Lab-Confirmed Cases for CDHD
First COVID-19 Death and Additional Lab-Confirmed Cases for CDHD
East Wenatchee, WA – This is a joint news release from Chelan-Douglas Health District (CDHD) and Confluence Health. CDHD was notified on March 24, 2020, by Confluence Health of the first death of a Health District resident as a result of COVID-19, and two (2) additional lab-confirmed positive test results. The Health District’s total number of lab-confirmed positive cases is now twelve (12), ten (10) of whom are Chelan County residents and two (2) Douglas County residents.
The Central Washington Hospital patient who passed away was a 91-year-old patient with multiple pre-existing health conditions. It is important to note that everyone is at risk for COVID19 – not just the elderly. Please continue practice all the possible measures in order to avoid infection or spread of this disease.
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Cascade Medical Reports Two (2) Positive Tests
East Wenatchee, WA – This is a joint news release from Chelan-Douglas Health District (CDHD) and Cascade Medical. On Tuesday, March 24, 2020, CDHD was notified by Cascade Medical of two (2) lab-confirmed positive test results for COVID-19. This brings the health district’s total number of lab-confirmed positive cases to nine (9), eight (8) of which are Chelan County residents and one (1) Douglas County resident.
Yesterday, Governor Jay Inslee signed a “Stay Home – Stay Healthy” proclamation, ordering everyone not to leave their homes through April 8, except for crucial activities. You can find the Governor’s complete order at: https://www.governor.wa.gov/office-governor/officialactions/proclamations. In addition to staying home, we encourage everyone to:
- Continue to practice all hygienic recommendations: proper hand washing, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth and cover your cough/sneezes. Clean and disinfect commonly used objects and surfaces.
- Rely on credible sources of information. Please stay up-to-date via credible resources such as local health departments, the Washington State Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, please call Cascade Medical at (509) 548-5815 if you live in the Leavenworth area, or call Confluence Health at 509-663-8711 or the State Department of Health hotline at 1-800-525-0127. Do not go to see a doctor without calling ahead first.
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Additional Lab-Confirmed Cases for CDHD Douglas County’s First Positive Case
East Wenatchee, WA – This is a joint news release from Chelan-Douglas Health District (CDHD) and Confluence Health. CDHD was notified by Confluence Health of four (4) additional positive test results for COVID-19 over the weekend. This brings the health district’s total number of labconfirmed positive cases to seven (7) – including Douglas County’s first positive case. Chelan County has six (6) positive cases.
CDHD and Confluence continue to urge the public to stay at home as much as possible. Social distancing is essential to slow the virus spread. We cannot afford to continue overwhelming our hospitals and clinics by spreading the virus any faster. Our healthcare system relies heavily on this measure to keep up with ongoing demand. Please DO NOT show up to a healthcare facility unannounced. Instead, call your healthcare provider or the Confluence hotline at 509-663-8711 to determine your course of care.
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CHELAN-DOUGLAS HEALTH DISTRICT WILL ENFORCE GOVERNOR’S ORDERS
East Wenatchee, WA – Recent emergency orders from our Governor have made it illegal for restaurants, gyms and other group gathering sites to continue operating as usual. Restaurants are encouraged to provide carry-out service but cannot operate dining areas. Gyms and other nonessential businesses must close. Links to all recent proclamations by the Governor can be found at https://www.governor.wa.gov/office-governor/official-actions/proclamations.
The Chelan-Douglas Health Officer, Dr. Francis Collins, issued a legally binding Health Officer’s order this morning making any violation of the Governor’s order a violation of the Chelan-Douglas Health Code. This enables the Health District to enforce the Governor’s orders, and we will do so. We will make every effort to achieve voluntary cooperation, but violators who do not cooperate will be fined $500 to $5,000 a day until cooperation occurs. State law empowers local law enforcement agencies to enforce Health Officer’s orders if necessary. Members of the public are encouraged to report violations
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Third Lab-Confirmed Case in Chelan County
East Wenatchee, WA – This morning Chelan-Douglas Health District learned of a third labconfirmed case of COVID-19 infection in Chelan County.
This is a reminder that the outbreak in our area is happening now, which means every act of social distancing we can take this weekend and in the coming week will be very very important and helpful. What we do now, in the early stages of our local epidemic, will have the most impact in minimizing the number of cases and deaths in our area.
Local elected officials, public health experts and state and national leaders are appealing to each and every one of us to do our utmost to observe stay-at-home orders and to avoid gatherings to the extent humanly possible. Each one of you can help protect neighbors and family who are at high risk due to age or health issues. Even if you never come into contact with a high-risk person, minimizing the overall number of infections in our area helps keep everyone safer.
There is no reason for panic, because almost everyone who gets this virus will recover and be fine. However, there is no reason to shrug it off because we each have the power to minimize harm to people who are precious to us and to our community. We must each do our part.
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First Two Positive COVID-19 Cases for Chelan-Douglas Health District
East Wenatchee, WA – This is a joint news release from Chelan-Douglas Health District (CDHD) and Confluence Health. CDHD was notified by Confluence Health of the Health District’s first two positive test resultsfor COVID-19. CDHD staff is working closely with these individualsto identify any close contacts. The individuals are self-isolated. It is likely that additional positive cases will be confirmed in the next several days. CDHD urges the public to take all the recent social distancing orders by Gov. Jay Inslee very seriously. It is now everyone’s responsibility to take care of one another during this pandemic. Please:
- Follow the Governor’s orders. These measures are temporary but they are essential to slow the virus spread, so that our healthcare system can keep up with ongoing demands.
- Protect yourself and your family. Continue to practice all hygienic recommendations such as proper hand washing, avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth and cover your cough/sneezes. Clean and disinfect commonly used objects and surfaces.
- Rely on credible sources of information. Please stay up-to-date via credible resources such as local health departments, the Washington State Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you have symptoms and reasons to believe your symptoms are connected to COVID-19, please practice social distancing and DO NOT show up to a healthcare facility unannounced. Instead, call the Confluence hotline: 509-663-8711 to determine your course of care. For additional public health information, please like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.
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COVID-19 Messages for March 12, 2020 From Chelan-Douglas Health District
At least 12 of Washington State’s 39 counties are now reporting COVID-19 cases and our Health District shares a border with four of them, including the two most affected counties in the nation. There are almost certainly cases already in our communities, though they may be mild or non-symptomatic cases which are invisible yet still able to infect others. We do not yet have lab-confirmed cases.
Almost all of us will get through this just fine, but there will be a significant number of deaths among the elderly and other high-risk groups. The time to get serious about every available preventive measure is right now, today. Failure to do so will result in more deaths among neighbors and relatives, even though most of us will come through OK. To save as many precious lives as we can, WE NEED EACH OTHER.
Your public health department issues the following urgent recommendations today:
- People over age 60, those with major chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease or respiratory problems, and pregnant women are urged to stay home as much as possible in the coming weeks to minimize exposure to the virus.
- Your local health department firmly urges the cancellation of in-person group events of any size, and especially the larger ones with over 20 participants, for the foreseeable future.
- If you absolutely must hold a group event of any size, contrary to the advice of public health experts everywhere, do all you can to minimize participation by high risk people and minimize contact among participants by maintaining a separation of at least 6 feet among them so far as possible. People with fever of 100.4 degrees or higher and with a cough should be asked to stay home.
- Anyone staying home from work, cancelling events or modifying business operations to minimize this epidemic is doing their civic duty and should be sustained as well as possible by the rest of us. Employers should consider continued compensation when possible, along with all other measures to sustain those temporarily laid off. We urge all community groups – including social service organizations, faith-based organizations, schools and PTOs, and others – to take the initiative right now to organize efforts to sustain high risk and laid-off people with whom you are associated, with food and household supplies. Financial institutions should implement all possible policies easing debt, mortgage deadlines, and related obligations for the duration of this pandemic.
This is becoming a community crisis and we are all in it together. Please do your part, because it will make a difference in the number of cases and deaths we ultimately have in our area. Anything we can do to delay cases will also help our health care providers care for us by making it more feasible to manage the severe demands they will face.
Finally, there is a lot of speculation about school closures. Experts at our state Department of Health are working with local and national experts along with CDC to use the best available models to predict the many effects and problems from school closures. One thing that is clear is that closures are less effective when taken too early in an outbreak, and when delayed until it peaks. That is why school closures have not been widely ordered by public officials so far. We may get there, but we are not there yet. Any school officials who make the decision to close in the meantime, after considering the unique circumstances of each school district, should be supported for doing everything possible to help protect our community.
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Chelan-Douglas Counties and 2019 Novel Coronavirus
ast Wenatchee, WA – As of Monday, March 2, 2020, the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed five (5) deaths and 18 cases of 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Washington State. This is an emerging outbreak with rapidly evolving information. Chelan-Douglas Health District (CDHD) is working closely with local agencies in response to the COVID-19 epidemic – though there are not yet any known cases in Chelan and Douglas Counties.
COVID-19 is a new disease that primarily attacks the respiratory system. It is usually spread person to person through close contact (within about 6 feet) and touching contaminated surfaces and then touching eyes, mouth or nose. Although masks may provide a sense of security, they are not recommended or effective for use by the general public. These are some steps people can take to reduce their risk of getting any viral respiratory infection:
- Washing your hands frequently or if unable to wash, using a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol
- Avoid touching your mouth and eyes
- Cover your cough and sneezes
- Stay away from people who are sick
- Stay home if you are sick Updates will be made as new information emerges.
CDHD encourages the public to stay informed through professional and trustworthy resources such as the DOH website or CDC website. You can follow DOH & CDHD on social media (@WADeptHealth and @ChelanDouglasHD) for updates and additional healthcare tips.
Additional Resources:
- Chelan-Douglas Health District
- Washington State Department of Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Last Updated: 08/24/2021 09:04 AM