The number of positive COVID-19 cases is on the rise in Starke County and Starke County Health Nurse Frank Lynch urges residents to follow CDC guidelines when it comes to slowing the spread of the coronavirus.
He stated that schools are opting to participate in virtual learning due to the rise in cases identified and he is also seeing an increase in cases in individuals between the ages of 60 and 80.
He noted that he does not see people wearing masks inside businesses and not maintaining a six-foot social distance from people in separate households.
Lynch encourages everyone to wear a mask over the nose and mouth and maintain a social distance when out in public, wash hands frequently throughout the day with soap and water, and use hand sanitizer when washing hands is not immediately an option. Keeping hands away from the face is also a tool when trying to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
Mild to moderate symptoms of the virus are being observed, according to Lynch.
If a person has been diagnosed with COVID-19, Lynch said isolate for at least 10 days from when symptoms started until fever free without the use of medication and the symptoms are reduced for over 24 hours. If there are no symptoms, isolate for 10 days from when the test was done. If you are a close contact of a positive case, the whole 14-day quarantine should be followed whether you feel good or not.
He asks that people respond to contact tracing as a way to help slow the spread of the virus.
In his review of statistics, Lynch said there could be even more cases in the next few months if people do not do what they can to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Starke County has already recorded over 130 positive COVID-19 cases in the month of October, which is the highest monthly number of cases since the pandemic began.
