First Grays Harbor COVID-19 case confirmed

Grays Harbor Public Health officials say that the first case of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has been confirmed in the county.

According to their update, the man in his 60s is in isolation and receiving care at Grays Harbor Community Hospital.

This man did not travel outside the United States before becoming ill.

Grays Harbor Community Hospital states that the man is a Grays Harbor County resident who had visited King County in February.

“The patient came to our ER where they were evaluated, admitted, and placed in a droplet isolation room. The individual is still in isolation and receiving care.”

Public Health say that they are working with the patient’s family to identify and evaluate persons who had close contact with him while he was contagious.

Those believed to be exposed will be asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days past their last exposure and report any symptoms to Public Health.

“We have expected and planned for this,” said Dr. John Bausher, the County’s Public Health Officer.  “The public health system works every day to track and follow up on cases of disease exposure.  The virus is new, but the public health response is not.”

Grays Harbor County Public Health & Social Services says that statewide case counts are changing rapidly and the most recent official counts are available on the Washington State Department of Health website at doh.wa.gov/coronavirus.

They also say that the virus is spreading in several communities in Washington and we should expect more cases of COVID-19 in the weeks to come.

COVID-19 Links

• Department of Health: https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus
• GH Public Health: http://www.healthygh.org/covid19