Cattaraugus County Health Department was notified of its ninety-seventh confirmed case of COVID-19.
The reporting laboratory was Bio-Reference Laboratory Inc., Elmwood Park, NJ. The department’s active
positive COVID-19 caseload is now four as there are eighty-nine residents who have recovered from
COVID-19.
The latest case is a female resident who resides in the southwest quadrant of the county, who is a health
care worker at a nursing home in Gowanda. She denies any significant travel history and reports being
asymptomatic (no cough, no fever, no body aches, etc.). She was tested for COVID-19 on July 1st as part
of a recent requirement of all nursing home employees to be tested weekly and her test results on
July 5th indicated that she was positive for the virus.
The department has begun a thorough contact tracing investigation for those individuals that she has
been in contact with, and the places that she has visited.
We would like to reiterate that if any resident experience fever, cough, shortness of breath or whole body
aches they should contact their health care provider (avoid going directly to an Urgent Care facility, or the
Emergency Room before calling).
In addition, wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. This is especially important
after using the bathroom, coughing, sneezing or blowing your nose.
If soap and water is not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that contains a minimum of 60%
alcohol.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth, especially with unwashed hands.
Disinfect commonly touched surfaces with a cleaner that is approved by the EPA against COVID-19.
Finally, in an effort to determine the prevalence of COVID-19 in our community, any resident interested
in getting tested, can register for a test at www.cattco.org/covid-19-test or call 716-938-9119 or
716-938-2265.
