BATH – The Steuben County Public Health Department received notification that four additional Steuben County residents tested positive for COVID-19. This brings the total to 231 confirmed cases. The individuals are residents of:
· City of Hornell (2)
· Town of Urbana
· Town of Wheeler
One or more of the individuals are linked with previously reported cases. One is a new positive from a nursing home in the Bath area, and two are new positives from a nursing home in the Hornell area.
The individuals are currently being isolated and monitored by the County Health Department. Public Health staff investigated and identified close contacts of the confirmed cases and exposure risks. All those known to have direct contact with the individuals have been notified.
Per CDC and New York State Department of Health guidance, information is being collected beginning 48 hours prior to symptom onset through the day of the investigation. The investigations indicate that the individuals visited the following locations within that timeframe:
· 4/8/20 or 4/9/20 – Dandy Mini Mart on Denison Parkway, Corning
· 4/11/20 – Tops in Bath
· 4/11/20 – Save a Lot in Bath
· 4/29/20 – Rite Aid drive through in Bath
“The theory of contact tracing has been shared in the news a lot lately. This is something we have been doing since day one with our positive COVID-19 individuals,” said Public Health Director, Darlene Smith. “We continue to see contacts to previous cases becoming positive, sometimes weeks after their initial contact. This highlights the importance and benefit of quarantine practices, which limits the contact’s interaction with the public and decreases the spread of COVID-19.”
All residents should continue to stay home and monitor themselves for COVID-19 symptoms of fever, cough, shortness of breath, chills or repeated shaking with chills, muscle pain, headache, sore throat, and new loss of taste or smell and contact their healthcare provider for instructions if feeling ill.
