A new case of COVID-19 has been reported to the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department (MOVHD) in Wood county bringing the total of positive cases to 50.

Roane county has nine confirmed cases and Wirt county has four. Pleasants county and Calhoun county each of two cases, and Ritchie county remains at one case.

What happens if you have been exposed to COVID-19? You should be tested and start quarantine. Quarantine is used to keep someone who might have been exposed to COVID-19 away from others. Quarantine helps prevent the spread of disease that can occur before a person knows they are sick or if they are infected with the virus without feeling symptoms. People in quarantine should stay home, separate themselves from others, monitor their health, and follow directions from their state or local health department. A person can be released from quarantine if they have a negative test result.

If you test positive for COVID-19 then you will be asked to isolate. Isolation is used to separate people infected with the virus (those who are sick with COVID-19 and those with no symptoms) from people who are not infected. In the home, anyone sick or infected should separate themselves from others by staying in a specific “sick room” or area and using a separate bathroom (if available). A person can be released from isolation when the following occur:

No fever for at least 72 hours (that is three full days of no fever without the use of medicine that reduces fevers)

AND

other symptoms have improved (for example, when your cough or shortness of breath have improved)

AND

at least 10 days have passed since your symptoms first appeared

There are circumstances when isolation may need to be longer. The health department will advise as needed if this should happen.

Links for more information are available at www.movhd.com; www.cdc.gov (COVID banner) or www.wv.gov (COVID-19 tab). Operators are available 24/7 at the toll-free West Virginia Coronavirus hotline at 1-800-887-4304 to provide accurate information about COVID-19, the risk to the public, and the state’s response.

Please protect yourself and others. Stay safe and keep others safe.
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