As COVID-19 Case Counts Rise in Louisa County, Residents Asked to Continue Prevention Efforts
Louisa County has a total of 166 positive COVID-19 cases today, 37 of those cases have recovered from the illness. Of the 166 cases, 148 are associated with the outbreak at Tyson Foods, Inc. in Columbus Junction. Both the State and local health departments have been working closely with Tyson on increased testing efforts to identify positive cases and their contacts in order to reduce community spread associated with this outbreak.
While most of our cases are associated with this outbreak, it remains important for everyone to stay home as much as possible and to practice social distancing – this simply means to stay away from groups of people, and to keep a 6-foot distance from other individuals.
Symptoms of COVID-19 include cough, fever (100.4 or greater) and shortness of breath. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, you should call your health care provider before going into the office. The provider may have special instructions for you and will determine if you should be tested.
All residents should:
- Stay home as much as possible. Leave only for essential errands like groceries or getting medication. When you run these errands, send only one person from the household, if possible.
- Stay home when even mildly ill (the kind of illness that normally wouldn’t prevent you from your everyday activities)
- Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your elbow/upper arm.
- Wash hands frequently with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
For up-to-date information on COVID-19, visit the IDPH webpage at https://idph.iowa.gov/Emerging-Health-Issues/Novel-Coronavirus and follow the department on Facebook at @IowaDepartmentOfPublicHealth and on Twitter at @IAPublicHealth.