Harnett County received notice from the State Lab on today (Thursday) that two additional individuals have tested presumptive positive for COVID-19. This brings the total number of presumptive positive cases in Harnett County to six.
“This is not unexpected since these two additional cases are associated with a previous case of a college student” said Harnett County Health Director John Rouse. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that people are at highest risk of exposure to COVID-19 when the affected person is showing flu-like symptoms.
The affected individuals are currently in isolation. “It’s likely that more individuals will test presumptively positive for the virus,” Rouse added. “If you are at increased risk, our public health team will contact you directly. If a member of our team does not contact you and you do not have any symptoms, you do not need to quarantine yourself or take precautions beyond washing your hands, covering your cough, and staying home from school or work if you feel sick.”
The county’s public health team encourages you to protect yourself from COVID-19 and any other flu-like illness by following these simple steps:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- Don’t touch your eyes, nose and mouth.
- Stay away from sick people.
- Clean and disinfect surfaces – especially ones that are touched frequently – using regular household cleaning spray or wipes.
- Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue, throw the tissue in the trash and wash your hands.
- Stay home if you’re sick and don’t send sick children to school or childcare.
Harnett County Officials continues to work with state officials and local agencies to closely monitor the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).
For more information on COVID-19 in Harnett County, visit http://www.harnett.org/publicinfo/coronavirus-covid19-updates.asp.
