Clinton County COVID-19 Positive Tests No Change at 56
Clinton County Health Department COVID-19 Case Update
Contact Tracing Vital to County’s Efforts to Control the Spread
Plattsburgh, April 21, 2020. Expansion of testing and contact tracing have been identified at both the state and national levels as key to a safe reopening of businesses and other sectors of society. Each time the Clinton County Health Department (CCHD) receives notification of a positive COVID-19 test result, contact tracing begins.
Contact tracing includes interviewing an individual who is ill or has tested positive for COVID-19; determining where they have been and who they have been in contact with, and reaching out to those contacts. The same is done for individuals who meet the criteria of a suspect case, even without a positive test result. The contact tracing team for COVID-19 also connects individuals who must remain in isolation or quarantine with community resources to help them meet the needs for food and other essential items.
“Contact tracing is a routine part of any communicable disease investigation”, according to Erin Streiff, Director of Health Care Services for the Clinton County Health Department. “What’s different with COVID-19, is the scale. There are many more people to contact and more follow-up needed as people are advised to remain in isolation or quarantine as a result of exposure to the virus. More people are needed to accomplish the task.”
The County’s contact tracing team currently consists of 15 individuals and includes Health Department staff, Sheriff’s Department representatives and additional assistance from the Department of Social Services. “The size of the contact tracing team for any disease investigation depends on the number of people who are ill or suspected of being ill,” Ms. Streiff noted. “The well-established partnerships that exist among County Departments and other community organizations allowed the team to grow as needed.”
CCHD developed a “Just in Time” training (JITT) for new additions to the contact tracing team. JITT is a term used to describe the training that quickly teaches the specific steps needed to carry out a task during an emergency or disaster. This training is another factor in the County’s ability to expand contact tracing as needed.
In the coming weeks, it is likely that more testing will become available in all areas of the state and nation. With this increased level of testing, a larger team will be needed to do contact tracing. Clinton County is anticipating the need to expand its capacity.
COVID-19 case numbers in Clinton County for Tuesday, April 21, 2020 are as follows.
Lab-confirmed positive 56 – Recovered 40 – Deaths 2
Probable 3 – Recovered 2 – Deaths 1
Suspect 42 Recovered 37 – Deaths 0
Posted: April 21st, 2020 under County Government News, Heathcare News.