The Macon County Health Department announces one new case of COVID -19 in the county. This case is a female, age 20-29 and it was contracted via community spread.
At the time of this press release, the following reflects cases of COVID-19 in the county –
- 86 positive cases
- 19 active positive cases
- 0 hospitalized
- 67 released from isolation
The state of Missouri added 1,058 cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, which brings the state to 71,733 cases.
Macon County Health Department Administrator Mike Chambers states “Macon County currently has 19 active cases – only 0.1% of our population and we anticipate releasing up to 14 of these cases from isolation through Monday as long as symptoms continue to improve. We have 26 close contacts in quarantine – slightly less than 0.2% of our population.
As of today, 2,012 tests have been conducted on Macon County residents with 86 of those tests positive which is a 4.2% positivity rate which compares to the state rate of 8.0%.
Through review of ongoing contact investigations, we have determined that there is no Macon County event that is spreading this virus. There are no Macon County businesses that we are aware that is spreading this virus. Some of our current cases were from out of county work. Some cases were small personal social events where social distancing and masking were not followed. Other cases were close contacts within the household.
The spike we have right now of COVID-19 cases is concerning. We have been tracking data and watching trends; however, this sharp increase has happened quickly over the past 8 days. The health department’s contact tracers are working closely with our isolated and quarantined citizens to help prevent the further spread of COVID-19 and keep our community healthy and safe.”
Community mitigation measures can be taken to help contain and stop the spread of COVID-19. Practicing social distancing by keeping 6 feet between yourself and others not in your household can help prevent the spread of any virus. Wearing a mask that covers the nose and the mouth, especially when social distancing is not available, will help prevent the spreading of respiratory droplets which carry the COVID-19 virus. Practicing good hand hygiene, avoid touching your face and cleaning frequently touched surfaces are important techniques to help keep yourself and others healthy.
Staying home when you are sick or have possibly been exposed will help prevent exposing others. If you have been exposed, it is important to quarantine for the full 14 days, even with a negative test to watch for symptoms to develop. If you have symptoms and are being tested, it is important to quarantine until you receive the test results.
Help keep our community healthy by taking preventative actions to contain and stop the spread of COVID-19 in Macon County.
