First case of coronavirus confirmed in OC

Published 4:55 pm Sunday, March 22, 2020

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Today, Orange County received confirmation of its 1st positive case of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) in an Orange County resident.

This individual is currently quarantined at home and cooperating with the direction of the health department.

Quarantine procedures include persons with COVID-19 staying home for at least 14 days, monitoring their temperature and only leaving home if they need medical care.

For confidentiality purposes, we are not releasing any additional information to identify the individual. This is a rapidly evolving situation. We understand this positive case may concern our community, but at this time there is no evidence of community spread. The immediate risk for Orange residents remains low. We have worked very hard planning and preparing for this moment. There are steps in place to safeguard the community.

The Health Department is conducting an epidemiological investigation and is working to quickly identify close contacts of the individual. Those may include family, friends, co-workers and other potential contacts.

Orange County Citizens are reminded you should stay home unless you have a need to travel somewhere for essential supplies.

Then, you should be maintaining social distancing at ALL time!

At this time, 14 Orange County residents have been tested. 11 of those results are pending and 2 results were negative and 1 result is positive.

For information on COVD-19, check the CDC website or www.Coronavirus.gov . You can also call 2-1-1, Option 6. If you feel you may have symptoms of COVID-19, call our Regional Call Center between 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., 7 days a week, to be screened: (409) 555-2536. It is important that you call first so they can evaluate your risk and determine if they need to see you in person so that other patients are not potentially put at risk.