Logan County Department of Public
Health tracking and preventing spread of COVID-19
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[August 14, 2020]
As Logan County and Illinois experience more
cases of infections from COVID-19, it is urged that the community
continues to follow prevention measures which includes wearing a
mask in public, maintaining social distancing and following all
recommended safety precautions.
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As more people are becoming less compliant with
these practices, more people are becoming infected which is a major
threat to the entire community. Currently 60 individuals from Logan
County have tested positive.
Until a preventative treatment measure or vaccine is available, the
Logan County Department of Public Health (LCDPH) nursing staff is
working hard to keep you, your family, and your community safe to
prevent the spread of COVID-19 through a public health process
called “Contact Tracing.” Contact tracing is an effective method
that has been employed for years by public health to control the
spread of infectious diseases such as Ebola, HIV/AIDs and sexually
transmitted infections.
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COVID-19 presents many challenges for LCDPH/public health contact
tracing efforts as the virus is dealt with on a large scale and can
be spread from person to person without visible symptoms. The
process of contact tracing for COVID-19 involves identifying and
contacting individuals who have tested positive. Once infected
individuals are contacted by LCDPH, the nurses will then interview
and attempt to identify people who have been in close contact with
them as they may have been exposed to the virus. People who are
known to be infected will be asked to isolate by staying home in one
room away from other individuals and pets. People who have been
identified as contacts with known infected individuals will be asked
to quarantine to prevent spreading the infection if they are in fact
infected.
Contact tracing is a difficult and time consuming process that more
specifically involves interviewing infected individuals and their
contacts, notifying contacts of their potential exposure, referring
contacts for testing, monitoring contacts (daily) for signs and
symptoms, and connecting contacts to the services they need so they
can remain at home during the self-quarantine process.
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It is vital during this voluntary quarantine that
people potentially infected (contacts) stay at home and maintain a
social distance of at least 6 feet from others until 14 days after
their exposure to the person with COVID-19. During this period,
people in quarantine will be asked to monitor themselves by checking
their temperatures twice daily and watching for symptoms such as
cough, fever or shortness of breath.
Regardless whether an infected individual is isolated or a contact
is in quarantine, the process is not convenient, but it is vital to
cooperate and follow all instructions provided by the LCDPH nursing
staff to prevent further spread of infection within the community.
People who are known to be infected will remain anonymous to the
public and their contacts.
Don Cavi, Public Health Administrator at LCDPH stated, “The nursing
staff at LCDPH are true heroes and deserve much credit as they work
long hours with infected individuals and their contacts to prevent
further spread of COVID-19.” Cavi adds, “The community can be just
as big a hero if everyone, including those in isolation and
quarantine, follows through with their responsibilities to prevent
further spread of the COVID-19 virus.”
For more information, please contact the Logan County Department of
Public Health at 217-735-2317. The department hours of operation are
Monday-Friday, 7:30-4:30. For information regarding LCDPH services
and for the latest COVID-19 county statistics, you can log onto
their website at WWW.LCDPH.
ORG.
[Don Cavi, MS, LEHP
Public Health Administrator
Logan County Department of Public Health]
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