The Sonoma County Department of Health Services (DHS) declared a state of emergency Monday after announcing the second presumptive positive case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) within the county.
“This patient has symptoms of the virus, and is currently in stable condition in an isolation room at a local hospital,” a DHS press release states. “The patient, who recently returned from a cruise ship that departed from San Francisco to Mexico, has been in the County for 10 days.”
The unidentified patient was tested by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) working with officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as County and hospital staff. The CDC will conduct another test to confirm the result of the diagnosis.
The county has declared a Local Health Emergency and Local Emergency, in order to help local officials respond to the possible additional COVID-19 cases.
“This recent presumptive positive case of COVID-19 is a cause for concern, and the County is declaring these emergencies to activate and deploy its resources to adequately respond to an increase of cases,” Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Celeste Philip said, according to the DHS press release. “They will allow us to work in tandem with our cities and health care providers to ensure we are prepared to combat an outbreak of COVID-19 in our communities.”
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors will hold a special meeting later this week to discuss the county’s planned response to COVID-19 and ratification of the emergency declarations, according to the DHS press release.
The following is a recommendation from the DHS:
County residents should contact their healthcare providers if they have symptoms such as fever and cough and had close contact with someone with symptoms who returned in the last 14 days from China, Italy, Iran, Japan, or South Korea.
Important Information to Remember
· DHS encourages everyone to practice good hygiene to reduce your risk of becoming infected with a respiratory virus, such as influenza or COVID-19, which includes:
· washing hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds,
· avoid touching your eyes and face,
· coughing or sneezing into your sleeved elbow,
· and staying home when ill.
· If you have not received your flu shot yet, it’s not too late; annual flu shots are the best protection from flu, which still sickens and kills thousands of people in the US every year.
For more information, go to the coronavirus website here: https://sonomacounty.ca.gov/Health/Information-About-Coronavirus/
